Australia’s hopes of playing a lead role at next month’s climate change summit were boosted on Tuesday when a government compromise effort to gain passage of its emissions trading scheme won the main opposition party’s support.
Barring an outright revolt from climate change sceptics within the opposition Liberal party, the government’s watered-down legislation will be cleared by the Senate as early as Thursday. That would enable Kevin Rudd, the Labor prime minister, to trumpet Australia’s progress at the Copenhagen climate change summit .
