Some called it Carbon Sunday; others called it world-leading; yet others called it something much ruder. Either way, last weekend Australia took a bold step forward, announcing a package of measures to tackle the country's disproportionately high greenhouse-gas emissions. At the heart of the package is a levy on carbon, which will be applied to emissions from the nation's 500 largest polluters. The package, of course, does not come close to cutting emissions by the amount required to head off the worst of global warming - but then, do any concrete political measures announced so far do that? By such dismal reckoning, it would be easy to dismiss the Australian effort as weak - a mere drop in the ocean - and critics are already doing so. But the package deserves a more sympathetic and considered response. The policy breaks new ground, moves in the correct direction and comes at a welcome time, given how climate change has plummeted down the international political agenda over the past year or so.
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