Australia Tosses Carbon Tax

Despite being the developed world’s worst polluter per person, Australia is now set to get rid of its two-year-old carbon tax. The Australian Senate voted 39-32 to repeal the tax. Repealing the tax was one of the central planks of the business-friendly Liberal-National coalition that put Prime Minister Tony Abbott in charge. The tax charged the 348 highest polluters in the country for every ton of greenhouse gas. Abbott plans to instead create a multibillion-dollar fund paid for by taxpayers that will pay companies to reduce emissions and use cleaner energy.