Australia to levy US$24.74 as carbon tax

Sydney: Australia on Sunday said carbon pollution would be taxed at Aus$23 ($24.74) per tonne, saying the move designed to fight climate change was a fundamental economic reform.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard plans to tax Australia's top 500 polluters for their carbon dioxide emissions as a means of reducing pollution, changing energy use and building investment in clean sources of energy.

"As a nation, we need to put a price on carbon and create a clean energy future," Gillard told a news conference in Canberra.