THE world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, is urging the Gillard government to impose a tax on carbon before any international agreement.
This is in order to protect Australia's long-term economic interests.
Mr Kloppers's call for a carbon tax undermines the passionate objections of Tony Abbott to setting a price on carbon before there is a global consensus.
"We do believe that such a global initiative will eventually come and, when it does, Australia will need to have acted ahead of it to maintain its competitiveness,"
Mr Kloppers told a packed Australian British Chamber of Commerce lunch in Sydney.
"Carbon emissions need to have a cost impact in order to cause the consumer and companies to change behaviour and favour low-carbon alternatives.
"We all recognise this is a politically charged subject. No government relishes telling people that things need to cost more