A survey sent to 436 large Australian businesses found that nearly 80 per cent of respondents believe some form of carbon pricing will return.
In the very first survey of local businesses since the repeal of the carbon price, respondents said carbon pricing would be re-introduced as a result of "international developments" and that a change of government would most certainly lead to a change in climate policy.
The survey, which was first published by Fairfax, covers major Australian energy, mining, construction and manufacturing firms with 77 per cent of respondents claiming they did not believe repeal of the carbon price will reduce their overall costs.
Although the study was undertaken between April and June this year, before the repeal was officially passed by the Senate, there was an expectation in the business community that the repeal would go ahead.
Led by Deakin University, the survey was sent to firms that are required to report their emissions each year to the federal government. About 20 per cent - 87 companies - responded on the condition of anonymity.
Director of Deakin University's Centre for Sustainable and Responsible Organisations, Nava Subramaniam, said the respondents reflected a good spread of industries, including some of the biggest companies in the country.
Professor Subramaniam said 87 per cent of companies had a ''neutral'' stance when it came to the Coalition's replacement policy - the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), which is being introduced as part of Direct Action.
Overall, he said there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm toward the ERF with most firms claiming there were few incentives to participate.
"The findings show the federal government cannot just assume that repeal of the carbon tax has removed regulatory uncertainty," Subramaniam said pointing out that the government needs to provide clearer information on the ERF.
About 75 per cent of companies said they had invested in controlling their emissions in the past three years with about half stating that they had little choice but to continue to invest in carbon dioxide emissions management in future.
Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) has published a report claiming the Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seeking to freeze the Renewable Energy Target (RET) at 16,000GWh, effectively ending the scheme.
According to the newspaper, the Dick Warburton-led RET review has been handed to the government, and Abbott met with responsible ministers – Environment Minister Greg Hunt and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane – on Sunday to discuss the government's position on the scheme, "which it will put to the bureaucracy for analysis and then to the Cabinet for a final decision".
The meeting is said to have concluded with a determination that the RET be abolished, with the 'grandfathering' of existing large-scale projects. An announcement is expected next month.