The government has edged closer to abolishing Labor's climate change laws with a vote to axe the carbon tax to happen as soon as Wednesday.

But as debate started in the Senate on Tuesday, new details of Clive Palmer's proposed zero-dollar emissions trading scheme emerged, and Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party senator Ricky Muir signalled plans to punch a further $1.3 billion hole in the federal budget by trying to save the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Potential stand-off: Clive Palmer. Credit:Getty Images

By the end of the week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government should achieve its long-cherished ambition to abolish the carbon tax, but it is increasingly clear the Palmer United Party intends to inflict maximum political chaos in the process.

In the Senate on Tuesday, Labor and the Greens attacked the government for a ''backward'' step that would be condemned by future generations, while Palmer United senators, who support the tax's abolition, moved an amendment to ensure power companies pass on to consumers the full cost savings from the removal of the carbon tax. The amendment will force power companies to display the savings from the repeal of the carbon tax on each household bill.