Charles Chauvel

Wellington, Dec 7 NZPA - The emissions trading scheme (ETS) might head back to the drawing board next year due to unforeseen international developments, Labour spokesperson on climate change Charles Chauvel predicts.

The ETS passed into law late-November under urgency with the assumption that the UN's climate-change conference in Copenhagen would end with no results.

Mr Chauvel said a faster progress on a global agreement and the failure of the Australian ETS legislation, which was rejected last week, would require changes to New Zealand's ETS law.

"The law passed last month puts in place a very slow phaseout of taxpayer assistance to emitters before they begin to face a price on producing greenhouse gases," he said.

"If, as predicted, the Copenhagen talks result in much quicker progress, it won't be possible to leave these provisions in place. They won't allow us to reach the much tougher pollution reduction targets New Zealand seems likely to adopt."

Prime Minister John Key said today there is a chance of a "high level agreement" in Copenhagen, but not a binding one.

Mr Chauvel said ETS law would also need to be brought back to Parliament because of 50 references to Australia's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme.

"The Government insisted that Australia was going to pass its law by the end of the year. Last week, it become obvious that would not happen -- indeed, Australia may now not have an ETS until 2010," he said.