In June 2002, Australia renounced its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and joined the US in outright opposition to the treaty, on the grounds that Australia is too dependent on coal to curb emissions. Last month, in response to shifting in public opinion, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced plans for a national carbon emissions trading scheme to become operative in 2011. CGD senior fellow David Wheeler draws on new CGD data to report that Australia is much more coal dependent than the U.S. He asks: “if our traditional allies the Australians can do this, despite a coal dependency over 50% greater than ours, why can’t we?”
