John Howard is giving $60 million in climate change funding to the wrong projects, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says.
The prime minister this morning outlined funding for 42 projects in collaboration with the five other countries in the AP6 Asia-Pacific climate bloc.
More than half the money is going to projects to develop clean coal technology, including $8 million for a mobile carbon catcher for coal-fired power stations.
Mr Howard told reporters he was taking practical measures quickly while other politicians were merely looking to sign pieces of paper.
But Senator Brown dismissed today's funding announcement, and said Australia should have ratified the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.
"It's like your first sip of tea in the morning. That's important, but if you don't have anything else for the rest of the day it looks pretty pathetic," Senator Brown told the National Press Club.
He said the funding should be going to renewable energy technology instead.
"This money in bulk is going to the coal industry. A bit across to renewables, a bit here and there, tokenism, but it's basically been handed across to the coal industry," Senator Brown said.
"The renewables people, the energy efficiency experts, the small companies that are out there struggling to get dollars to put the world-saving technology they have together, simply don't make it.
"Now the coal industry is cash-rich. It's returning billions of dollars worth of profit each year.
"Let it research putting gas underground, or whatever else it's going to do."
Mr Howard should establish a commission to investigate renewable energy technology, energy efficiency and demand, and the huge societal changes that would be needed to combat climate change, he said.
"Australia should be a world leader, the prime minister has taken us to the back of the pack," Senator Brown said.
Senator Brown said he had been struck by the response of Americans to Australia's decision not to ratify Kyoto.
Americans knew Australia for two environment-related issues - Steve Irwin's death and Kyoto, Senator Brown said.
"You see eulogies to Steve on the back of cars driving around in San Francisco - it was lovely to see," he said.
"But besides that, the thing that people in America know us for is being the other country that's refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol.
"What an embarrassing thing - but worse still, what a lost opportunity."
Senator Brown predicted that Mr Howard would bring down a record environmental budget next May to try to buy kudos.
"But he cannot buy back a wasted decade," he said.
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, released in London overnight, said the Kyoto Protocol should be seen as a first step towards global emissions trading.