The Palmer United Party leader is pushing for the abolition of the carbon tax in return for the introduction of an emissions trading scheme, drafted with a zero-dollar starting price.
Mr Palmer refused to take questions following his press conference with former US Vice President Al Gore last night, but appeared on ABC television to give further details on his proposed policy amendments.
Speaking to Lateline, he acknowledged his dramatic u-turn in attitude towards climate change, stating that he “didn't have a full picture”.
“Meeting with the Vice President [Al Gore], someone who's a world authority on that, a Nobel laureate, was able to enlighten me on a number of aspects about climate change which I wasn't fully familiar with,” he said.
Mr Palmer said he had been approached by Mr Gore and confirmed that the former US Vice President Al Gore was not paid for his appearance.
Mr Palmer also stated that his widely-publicised dinner with Malcolm Turnbull was not related to the policy proposal.
As part of his proposal, the MP wants to keep bodies such as the Climate Change Authority and Clean Energy Finance Corporation, as well as move towards the creation of a new emissions trading scheme.
He did acknowledge that the carbon tax was the first step towards an ETS, in response to a question put to him by journalist Tony Jones last night, but said it was up to his party as to whether they stick with the current model.
“That's not truth to say that we're redesigning it ourselves,” he said.
“And certainly we'll take advice, but whether we'll decide to accept it's another thing. We'll listen to advice, we'll try to make the best decision.”
Greens leader Senator Christine Milne has since weighed in on the developments, stating that she was pleased with Mr Palmer’s support for a renewable energy target.
“The only thing we now have to do is keep the emissions trading scheme,” she told Sky News.
“The bad news out of yesterday is that Mr Palmer wants to abandon the ETS we've already got and it’s my job to convince him otherwise.”
'We don't want ideological wars'
Mr Palmer has described his meeting with Mr Abbott this morning as constructive, saying that the Prime Minister was receptive to "having an exchange and a dialogue".
"It's not about personalities, it's about what's good for the country," he said.
"... We don't want ideological wars."
Mr Palmer dismissed questions proposing that Australia could be left without any climate policy and declined answering repeated questions about how much he would save from the repeal of the carbon tax.
He said he and his colleagues would not be making any announcements until the amendments to legislation had been finalised, but confirmed that the Prime Minister was "prepared to look at things" such as the ETS.
A spokesman for the Prime MInister has told Fairfax Media that the meeting was "genial".
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