Carbon tax battle heats up; Mining companies speak out against Australia's plans

摘要

AUSTRALIAN PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has vowed to take on climate change in her country but she has struggled to gain support for a carbon price plan that would tax carbon emissions in an effort to encourage cleaner energy. Her battle got more intense when some of the leading mining companies in Australia spoke out against the plan at a mining conference in Canberra. Officials from Anglo-American and Xstrata were among those warning of dire consequences from the carbon tax. The companies warned that a planned carbon pollution reduction scheme could threaten sovereign risk and slash investment, output and jobs, as they fought to stop or at least minimize the impact of a new tax on big polluters.