Prime Minister Julia Gillard says her government still wants to work towards a price on carbon, but it'll wait for the findings of a multi-party committee before acting.
Her comments follow BHP Billiton boss Marius Kloppers call for Australia to take a lead in tackling climate change, saying a carbon tax is inevitable. He also called for an end to the reliance on coal-fired power stations.
And last night, Greens Senator Christine Milne told the ABC she has had a useful meeting with Climate Change Minister Greg Combet. She's now hopeful of finding a compromise with news that a climate change committee will be set up. The terms of reference are still to be finalised.
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"It was my first opportunity since he was sworn in as Minister to sit down and talk with him about the whole issue of climate change, about renewables, energy efficiency and the carbon price," the ABC reports.
"They are things that he's nominated publicly as things he wants to really progress."
Kloppers was also keen on the issue of tackling coal's dominance in Australia.
"Australia will need to look beyond coal towards the full spectrum of available energy solutions," he told the Australian British Chamber of Commerce in Sydney on Wednesday night.
He's divided the business community by saying the nation needs to look beyond coal to other energy options, or it'll be at a
competitive disadvantage when carbon is priced globally.
Some groups are opposed to acting on a carbon price before other nations, although there is a desire in other quarters for certainty.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott won the Liberal leadership in December largely on the basis of opposing a carbon price.
