Federal funding for emissions reduction activities will be stretched across 15 years, not 10 as originally flagged.
When Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a $2 billion injection for the Climate Solutions Fund he described it as a 10-year plan, but Tuesday's budget papers showed a different story.
Of the $2 billion, only $189 million has been allocated for the next four years.
By stretching the funding period, about $160 million will be available each year instead of $300 million, after those first four years.
Environment Minister Melissa Price was directly asked about the five-year funding difference in parliament on Wednesday, but she avoided the question to instead say the emissions reduction activities will still occur over 10 years.
This goes in line with the aim of the fund, which is to reduce emissions by 103 million tonnes by 2030.
The $2 billion also includes $226 million which was remaining in the fund when it was first announced, she added.
The Australian Conservation Foundation says the funding shouldn't be spread out until 2035.
"Climate scientists are telling us we are in the crucial decade for action on climate change," CEO Kelly O'Shanassy told AAP in a statement.
"That means we need serious action to tackle climate pollution now, not in the 2030s."
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