SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian government on Thursday repealed laws requiring large companies to pay for carbon emissions, fulfilling a key election promise of Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The Senate voted 39 to 32 on Thursday to repeal the so-called carbon tax, after Mr. Abbott’s conservative government secured the support of a number of independent senators. The House of Representatives voted earlier in the week to repeal the measure, which has been a highly contentious issue in Australian politics.
The measure was devised to penalize hundreds of Australia’s biggest producers of carbon emissions, setting a price of 23 Australian dollars, or $21.50, per metric ton of carbon dioxide when it was put into effect in 2012 under Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The price rose to 25 Australian dollars this month.