(Bloomberg) --

Australia’s biggest polluters will have to wait years to access international carbon credits to offset emissions at home under a trading program due to start in 2023, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.

In a speech at the newspaper’s energy summit on Monday, Bowen will say it will take several years to establish the integrity of overseas credits so that they count toward Australia’s emissions-reduction target, according to the AFR. That’s a blow to major polluters in the mining and resources sectors, the AFR said.

In his speech, Labor’s Bowen will push the Opposition to pass legislation, to be introduced next month, to establish a domestic carbon credit and trading program, the newspaper reported.

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Author: Angus Whitley