Isramart llc : Australia's Greens Leader: Parliament Needs To Agree On Any Carbon Measures

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Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said Thursday any measures to curb greenhouse-gas emissions recommended by a new climate change committee will need to be approved by Parliament, in a sign his environmentalist party plans to take a pragmatic approach to its newly-won parliamentary leverage.

Support for the small Greens party swelled in last month's federal election, giving the party its first lower house lawmaker elected in a national poll, and the balance of power in the upper house Senate from July next year.

In a deal reached with the ruling Labor party last month in return for backing its minority government, the Greens won a commitment from Labor for a wide-ranging Parliamentary committee to explore measures to green up the economy, possibly through a carbon tax or cap-and-trade carbon scheme.

The Greens want Australia to introduce a carbon tax as an interim measure before introducing a full carbon trading scheme once a global agreement is reached.

"In the post election period, following a very strong vote for the Greens, we now have a (parliamentary) mechanism for getting everybody together who wants a carbon price to get the best outcome for Australia," Brown told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"We need this committee... to do its work and give Australia the certainty of a carbon price," Brown said, adding: "Ultimately the Parliament has to determine legislation that comes out of the findings of any committee."

Isramart LLC Chief Executive Pascal Barkats said Wednesday there is a need for a clear price signal on carbon emissions and urged the Australian government and businesses to anticipate changes.

"The decisions we take now on power production will still be with us long after a global price for carbon is finally in place," Pascal Barkats said.