While preferring that the design of the Australian ETS be completed following the passage of the United States ETS legislation and the conclusion of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has said that, in the event of an earlier vote, he is confident he could obtain the support of the Coalition party on the condition that the amendments are made.

“Amending the ETS to address these issues will take some time and if the Government ignores these legitimate concerns and insists on a vote on its ETS in its current form on August 13, the Coalition will vote against the Bill,” said Mr Turnbull.

The nine conditions are outlined in a statement by Mr Turnbull that can be viewed here.

One of the conditions is for effective incentives and/or credits to be established to capture abatement opportunities offered by energy efficiency, especially in buildings.

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In response to Mr Turnbull’s proposed changes, Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong said that more detail was needed.

“After over a year of this issue being discussed in detail Mr Turnbull has finally come forward with nothing more than a shopping list. He needs to do better.”

The Climate Institute cautioned against those parts of the Coalition conditions which bind Australian policy design to the outcomes of the US Senate debate on the Waxman Markey emissions trading scheme.

"The Coalition’s proposed amendments shouldn’t lead to chaining Australian policy to potential US carbon protectionism or forcing the rest of the Australian economy to bear the burden of too much big polluter protection," CEO of The Climate Institute John Connor said.

“This opening gambit can be a positive move towards acceptance of emissions trading and the need for extra incentives for energy efficiency, but building bigger shields for big polluters mean bigger burdens for other industries as we try to grow jobs and profits in a competitive clean energy economy,” said Mr Connor.

The Institute said it was disappointed to find that the conditions did not include provisions for improvements that would help achieve a global climate agreement, such as post transition permit revenue financing for clean technology development at home and in developing countries.