Photograph from Macarthur Coal/Reuters Published October 5, 2012
Australia's enormous coal deposits long seemed like an
unmitigated gift in an expansive land of sweltering summers. On
the planet's driest inhabited continent, fossil fuel delivered
cheap, reliable electricity through both extreme heat and
torrential storms. But drought, rampant wildfire in the outback,
and the degradation of the treasured Great Barrier Reef have
forever altered how Australia views its energy endowment. Facing
a future as one of the places on Earth most vulnerable to
climate change, and one of the nations with the world's highest
per capita carbon emissions, Australia has taken steps to change
its fate. (See interactive: "Four Ways to Look at Global Carbon
Footprints") This week the government issued its first ever
carbon emissions permits, a milestone in implementation of a new
climate and energy law that is expected to give Australia the
world's most comprehensive carbon cap-and-trade system by 2015.
(Related: "IEA Outlook: Ti