Australian leader rules out generators paying for pollution

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's prime minister on Wednesday ruled out making power companies pay for greenhouse gas pollution they create — a policy option that angered conservative government lawmakers when proposed by a minister this week.

Malcolm Turnbull said a review of the government's climate change policies next year aimed at achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2030 would not include any measures that would inflate electricity bills.

Had the former center-left Labor Party government won that election, the tax would have transitioned into an emissions trading scheme in which polluters would pay for carbon credits at a price set by market forces.