Carbon price is 'a must'

CANBERRA - Any future that involves nuclear energy is not possible without placing a price on carbon, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is in the process of seeking a new climate policy for his party and has suggested nuclear energy has a role to play. But he has ruled out a carbon tax.

"Tony Abbott said ... he wants a debate about nuclear power, he actually killed it in the Senate last week," Ferguson told ABC radio.

Nuclear energy is an expensive form of energy to produce, he said.

"If you want nuclear power to ever ever stack up in Australia then you've actually got to have a price on carbon."

Economics professor at the Australian National University Stephen Howes says any response to climate change needs a carbon price.

"Unless you put a price on carbon, you're not taking the problem seriously and you're not going to come up with a rational response," Howes said.

The government is spending $168 million to test the viability of carbon capture and storage at four projects - two new coal-fired power stations in Queensland expected to capture two-thirds of their emissions, plus a plant in Western Australia and one in Victoria.

- AAP