Australia's Opposition Liberal Party stalled the government's carbon trading legislation a day after it elected a new leader who vehemently opposes it.
At a news conference Tuesday following his election, right-wing maverick Tony Abbot vowed to oppose the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the Senate, where the ruling Labor party does not have a majority.
Two Opposition senators crossed the floor and voted in favor of the bill but it was not enough to secure passage of the measure to reduce greenhouse gases, as it was voted down by 41 votes to 33 in the Senate Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the bill would be submitted again in the upper-house next year.
The bill, aimed at cutting carbon pollution by 5-25 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020, is strongly opposed by the industry and agriculture lobbies.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wanted the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme to be passed by the Senate before next week's climate change summit in Copenhagen, where representatives from major countries meet to negotiate a new international treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol to curb greenhouse gases for 2012 and beyond.
The defeat of the bill comes as an embarrassment for Rudd, who discussed climate change with US President Barack Obama in Washington Monday.
The development may prompt Rudd to call a snap election, after which the bill could be passed at a special joint session of parliament, reports say.
Australia, where coal is its biggest export, has the highest per capita carbon emissions among developed nations.
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