The federal government has hinted its decision to delay its emissions trading scheme could cost jobs.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said Senate troubles and slower-than-expected international progress on the issue had forced Labor to delay the scheme until at least 2013.
"Action on climate change remains the right thing to do," she told ABC Radio on Wednesday, adding the government had to deal with the political realities of "where we are".
Senator Wong could not rule out job cuts within her department as a result of the decision.
"That'll be an issue for the secretary to determine, which is the best way to deploy the resources of the department," she said.
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Senator Wong defended the delay, saying it would take time for greater climate change clarity to come internationally.
"The Kyoto (Protocol) period ends in 2012, and major economies will have to come to a view about what the post-Kyoto arrangements are," she said.
When questioned why the government was not using a double dissolution to force the issue with the opposition, she said: "This is a contested space and we will continue to contest the position."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wasn't brave enough to take difficult policies to the next election.
"The choice was between action and inaction, and he's chosen inaction," he said. "How can you just ... dump it?"
Liberal frontbencher MP Steve Ciobo said Labor's climate change policies were not dead yet.
"Make no mistake, they will still impose their $1100 in great big new taxes on every Australian household, but it will happen after the election - not before - because they are running scared," he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown accused the prime minister of giving up on climate change.
"He's decided it's all too hard," he said.
