Clean Energy Act 2011

Clean Energy Act 2011
Parliament of Australia
A Bill for an Act to encourage the use of clean energy, and for other purposes
Citation	Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth)
Enacted by	Australian House of Representatives
Date passed	12 Oct 2011
Enacted by	Australian Senate
Date passed	8 Nov 2011
Date of Royal Assent	18 Nov 2011
Date commenced	1 July 2012
Legislative history
Bill introduced in the Australian House of Representatives	Clean Energy Bill 2011
Introduced by	Julia Gillard
First reading	13 Sep 2011
Second reading	11 Oct 2011
Third reading	12 Oct 2011
Bill introduced in the Australian Senate	Clean Energy Act 2011
Introduced by	Joe Ludwig
First reading	12 Oct 2011
Second reading	12 Oct 2011
Third reading	8 Nov 2011
Repealing legislation
Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Act 2013 (Cth)
Status: Repealed

The Clean Energy Act 2011 is the main Act in a package of legislation that established an Australian emissions trading scheme, to be preceded by a three-year period of fixed carbon pricing designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and limit global warming. The package was introduced by the Gillard Labor Government in February 2011 and repealed on 17 July 2014 by the Abbott Government.

The Gillard Labor Government's legislation followed unsuccessful efforts by the Rudd Labor Government to secure passage of an Emissions Trading Scheme through the Parliament. In opposition, Rudd had called climate change "the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time" and called for a cut to greenhouse gas emissions by 60% before 2050. Both the incumbent Howard Government and the Rudd Labor opposition promised to implement an emissions trading scheme (ETS) before the 2007 federal election. Labor won the election, and the Rudd government began negotiating the passage of an ETS through the Parliament.

The Brendan Nelson led Opposition called for the vote on the government's ETS to be delayed until after the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. Prime Minister Rudd said in response that it would be "an act of absolute political cowardice, an absolute failure of leadership not to act on climate change until other nations had done so" and the government pursued the early introduction of the Scheme.

Unable to secure the support of the Australian Greens for their preferred model, the government entered negotiations with the new Liberal Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, and in the lead up to the Copenhagen Conference, developed an amended Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, with the support of Turnbull. Following a party revolt by Coalition members opposed to the Scheme, and shortly before the carbon vote, Tony Abbott challenged for the leadership of the Liberal Party and narrowly defeated Turnbull. Thereafter the Coalition opposed the ETS outright and the government was unable to secure the support of other Senators for its CPRS.

...
Wikipedia