THE Federal Government's draft emission trading scheme has received cautious local support, but community leaders say it still falls short of the radical action needed.
The Government's green paper released yesterday will see Australia ease into a relatively gentle scheme on July 1, 2010.
Petrol will be included in emissions trading, but fuel excise will be cut so that there is no net increase in price, a big plus for low and middle income earners.
Industry, electricity and rubbish disposal will all attract a carbon trading tax, but agriculture is exempt initially.
Local environmental groups said the cautious approach was understandable, but the Government had still not gone far enough.
"It really needs to include everything from every energy source in the country, otherwise it's only pretending (to combat climate change)," said Ian McBurney, from the Bendigo Sustainability Group.
"Not including forestry is not on. Forests give us clean air, they soak up carbon dioxide, how is cutting down the life support of Mother Earth not included?"
Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance executive Bronwen Machin said petrol prices would increase regardless of a carbon tax.
It's estimated cutting fuel excise will cost Treasury up to $1 billion a year in foregone tax revenue.
"It is important that the funds raised from a carbon tax be used to build public transport infrastructure as more people will be using it," she said.
"It (ETS) is complex and it's not going to be right from the beginning because we're trying something completely new, but the Government needs to look at all the options."
Both raised concerns on fuel efficiency standards for cars and appliances, saying these needed to be tougher to encourage manufacturers to create more efficient appliances.
Bendigo's mayor, Cr David Jones, also said people needed to remember the emissions scheme was just one option.
"There seems to be something a bit amiss that people think an ETS will fix the problem," he said.
"The major problem with an ETS is that for it to work we need consistency and universal agreement.
"We have seen in Australia already that it is being used as a political football."
He said technologies already available, such as solar power, required further investment in research and development as future sources of energy.
Federal Labor member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons welcomed the agriculture sector's omission from the scheme despite it producing about 16 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions.
"It's important for the scheme's effectiveness that as many sectors of the economy are included, but there are real practical difficulties with including agriculture from the start," he said in a statement.
The Government will release its final plan for emissions trading, along with draft laws to start the scheme, in December.