Fed: Aust should have carbon tax, not ETS: oil giant ExxonMobil
Tue Aug 18 03:26:40 EST 2009
CANBERRA, Aug 17 AAP - Oil giant ExxonMobil says Australia should have a carbon tax, not an emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Australian chairman John Dashwood has told a Melbourne conference that governments should not pick winners on energy policy.
"A carbon tax is more transparent to consumers, will achieve greater environmental benefits and is more difficult to manipulate than a cap and trade program," Mr Dashwood said.
"A well-designed, revenue-neutral carbon tax is a more appropriate means of achieving greenhouse gas emissions than the current debate on the merits of a national cap-and-trade system."
The proposed ETS was voted down in the Senate last week, although the government has vowed to try again in November.
Under an ETS, the amount of carbon would be capped at a certain target, while a carbon tax system taxes the amount of carbon produced but has no cap.
Mr Dashwood was speaking to the Paydirt 2009 Resources Victoria Conference.
