Will marketing a company's green credentials lose its appeal, because it’s almost compulsory? Will the leading enviro–friendly brands stay ahead of the curb or stay where they are? Will big polluters change their ways and let consumers know they’re good guys now with big advertising stings? Please drop a comment below with your thoughts, and what the tax will mean for your business or brand.

In the meantime, we have some words from Steve Hodgkinson, research director at Ovum, giving you another viewpoint in the debate.

What the carbon tax means for your business in practice

“Putting aside the politics of how best to design Australia’s strategy for transitioning to a greener economy, the Government’s Climate Change Plan finally gives businesses some clarity over the imperatives to invest in technology to reduce CO2 emissions. For most organisations this means that they will need to invest in systems to monitor operational processes and to analyse and report on their energy consumption, the energy efficiency of production facilities and offices and their overall CO2 emission outcomes. The case for such systems has been understood in a theoretical sense for decades, largely from an environmental and social responsibility perspective but practical imperatives to act have been lacking. One positive effect of the Climate Change Plan will be to stimulate action, which will lead to spending on software and services associated with understanding and acting on carbon consumption and emission data.”

The Good

“We expect that the Plan, assuming it proceeds to legislation, will lead to increased opportunities for companies that specialise in the software and systems needed to manage energy use efficiently and to report on compliance under the new carbon pricing arrangements.”  

The Bad

“The Government’s Plan is quite complicated, however, due to the need to appease so many different interest groups. While the broad principles are clear, the devil will lie in the detail of the pricing mechanisms and the assistance and transitional arrangements. While not technically a tax regime, the setup definitely has the feel of the complexity of tax policy, and this will be reflected in the amount of effort and cost that organisations and their advisers will need to expend trying to grapple with understanding the implications of the scheme and setting up processes and systems.”