Bill Shorten has dismissed reports of Labor supporting a carbon tax as "complete rubbish".
News Corp reported on Wednesday the opposition had produced a discussion paper proposing a two-pronged carbon tax on industry and households.
The opposition leader told reporters in Townsville that Labor was preparing a climate policy to take to the next election.
"We believe in climate change, we don't believe in passing the problems of pollution to future generations and our focus will be on renewable energy and there is going to be no carbon tax," Mr Shorten said.
Opposition spokesman Mark Butler described the leaked document as a briefing paper, not a policy, which had not been discussed in shadow cabinet.
The paper includes proposals for vehicle emission standards, laws governing power plants and household energy efficiency targets.
Mr Butler said central to Labor's policy would be an emissions trading scheme - placing a legal cap on pollution - and a commitment to ensure global warming does not exceed two degrees Celsius beyond pre-industrial levels.
Party leaders will debate climate policy at the ALP national conference in Melbourne later this month.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said the leak showed internal division within Labor over carbon pricing and concerns about Mr Shorten's flagging approval ratings.
"It would be madness for Bill Shorten to follow that path, but obviously someone wants to `kill Bill' at the moment," Mr Hockey told ABC TV.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Labor can't be trusted not to introduce a "triple-whammy tax".
"It shows Bill Shorten is in every respect a carbon copy of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard," he told reporters in Canberra.
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