Australia is to impose a fixed price on carbon emissions for the biggest polluters in the country.
The top 500 emitters will be charged $23.78 per tonne of carbon equivalent they produce from July 2012 and a full emissions trading scheme will be in place from July 2015.
Such a move means Australia will have the most comprehensive carbon price scheme outside Europe.
Indeed, their current price is almost double that of carbon in Europe, which stands at between $8.70 and $12.60.
It is hoped the policy will encourage industries to reduce their levels of pollution and develop green technologies.
This is encouraging news ahead of next month's UN climate talks, but there are already problems looming on the horizon for Australia's carbon tax.
Not least, the current opposition party have warned they will scrap the tax should they get come to power in 2013.
Such internal politics highlight the need for more discussion on a global carbon market: one which is legally binding on a sovereign level and meaningful enough to allow usual market forces to come into play.
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