CANBERRA—The Australian Greens have accused Labor and the coalition of coming together on emissions trading because of pressure from big polluters.
The government has acceded to a coalition demand that agriculture be excluded permanently from the carbon pollution reduction scheme, paving the way for possible parliamentary approval of Labor legislation.
Greens leader Bob Brown says any deal between the two major parties will go beyond agriculture's exclusion and onto more compensation for industry.
"What's happening here is that the Labor Party and the coalition in coming together under the pressure of the big polluters ... are going to Copenhagen with a prescription for failure," he told Sky News on Sunday.
The government wants its draft laws through parliament by the end of next week so it can attend UN climate change talks in Copenhagen with the backing of a legislated scheme.
The Greens are using a new opinion poll to back their demand for the ETS to include higher carbon reduction targets.
The scheme provides for a minimum five per cent reduction by 2020, and up to 25 per cent if a global agreement is reached at Copenhagen.
"This poll shows the majority (54 per cent) of Australians would favour at least 25 per cent," Senator Brown said.
