The business community is demanding answers from the Federal Opposition about plans to repeal the carbon tax.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has promised to abolish carbon pricing if the Coalition wins the federal election in September, 2013.
However, despite strong opposition to the tax, especially within Australia's HVAC&R industry, there is a lot of concern about how it will be repealed and the impact it will have on the national economy.
"Industry is still opposed to the tax but there is concern about how it will be removed; hopefully it will be done gradually and carefully," an industry source said yesterday.
"What we need are some details because right now we have absolutely no idea and this is creating a lot of uncertainty."
The source said during talks in Canberra the Coalition gave the impression that the tax would be abolished overnight.
"Its a scary proposition, we really need some details," he added.
Energy generation companies have been particularly vocal about their concerns with Abbott forced to allay concerns about the impact of the Coalition's Direct Action policy.
Black coal generators are even talking about a $1 billion compensation package, according to a report in yesterday's Australian Financial Review (AFR).
The newspaper reported that a group of power companies met with opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt last week asking for clarification.
After the meeting National Generators Forum (NGF) executive director Tim Reardon said compensation had not been discussed, but he signalled that it would be an issue if the Coalition was elected and repealed the carbon tax.
The NGF's position is that any change in government policy which had a financial impact on investors should be "equitably compensated".
"It is not helpful to the industry to continually open up the possibility of changes to existing programs that are aimed at transitioning to a carbon-constrained economy," Reardon told the AFR.
"This only adds to the uncertinty that investors face. We will work with the government of the day to develop effective policies to achieve least-cost emissions abatement and this includes recognition of the impact on investors."
Industry groups representing the HVAC&R industry have expressed similar concerns with Hunt indicating that there would be widespread consultation after the election including a whitepaper process to canvass a range of options.
Hunt said organisations would be given "maximum input" while Origin Energy managing director Grant King said the goal is reduced emissions at the lowest cost.
Refrigerant Australia executive director Steve Anderson agrees. He does not believe carbon pricing is the most effective way to reduce emissions.
"In fact it is a very costly way to reduce emissions," he said.
