Australia could delay emissions trade beyond 2010

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government said on Monday it could delay introduction of a planned emissions trading system expected to boost fuel and power prices, as polls showed its record recent popularity slipping.

The centre-left government's top climate advisor, economist Ross Garnaut, last week unveiled a model for how the trading system could operate after its planned 2010 introduction, warning climate shift could devastate Australia's fragile environment.

But the treasurer of the most populous New South Wales state, Michael Costa, accused Garnaut of delivering a "Chicken Little" report predicting the sky could fall in on the economy and iconic tourist lures such as the Great Barrier Reef.

"We don't need Chicken Little, we need details," Costa, a left-of-centre lawmaker, said.

"I think it's absurd ... to argue we should dismiss legitimate concerns about the details with broad-based and fairly generalized references to the future of the Great Barrier Reef."

The Garnaut report, which called for a two-year phase-in of the world's most comprehensive emissions trading scheme from 2010, will be matched by a government options paper on how the market might function, to be delivered later this month.

Voters, though, are already fretting over higher petrol and electricity prices the regime will inevitably bring, piling pressure on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to limit its impact on ordinary Australians.

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