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New Zealand will watch with interest as Australia designs a carbon trading system to see if it is possible to set up a transtasman market, Climate Change Minister David Parker said yesterday.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard's taskforce inquiry into the impact of a global emissions trading system yesterday recommended against a carbon tax on industries.
Instead, the taskforce says emissions trading, whereby an industry might have to offset its emissions through selling credits, is a better tool for the job.
The New Zealand Government had wanted to implement a carbon tax, but had to pull the plug due to a lack of political support.
The Government is now considering wider climate change policies including emissions trading to reduce greenhouse gases.
- NZPA