Compromise on emissions plan mooted

The Labour Party is offering to work with the Government on an amended emissions trading scheme, lest it become captive to the Act Party on climate change policy.

"We don't want to see a situation where we just don't get an ETS, or worse where they fulfil their promise to Act and institute legislation to suspend the thing," said Labour's climate change spokesman, Charles Chauvel.

At Act's behest the ETS enacted just before the election is being reviewed by a select committee, whose terms of reference include whether to have a scheme at all.

A spokesman said Climate Change Minister Nick Smith was open to building consensus on how best to tackle climate change, as the issue was one which would far exceed the life of any Government.

"If Mr Chauvel and Labour are genuine about consensus, then we are prepared to talk."

Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said, "If National find themselves between a rock and a hard place and don't want as bad a scheme as Act might push them into, and if instead they were prepared to work with us, we would be open to discussions."

It would be a huge coup for Prime Minister John Key if he could get genuine cross-party agreement on this among the three largest parties in Parliament, she said.

But the scheme was already too weak and the Greens would be unlikely to accept further weakening.

Mr Chauvel spoke of working with the Government on a "reconfiguration" of the scheme.

"Well, we want to see an ETS and as good an ETS as we can, but they won the election and we didn't."