IN THE 1970s, Germany's Rhine River was considered ''the open sewer of Europe''. Near the Swiss border, schools of salmon or trout could be seen on their backs, poisoned by the pollution. The sight was shocking to Germans and helped bring about a ''collective consciousness'' on environmental issues, according to German parliamentarian Barbel Kofler.

''I believe that is where the environmental movement really started to gather pace. That intensified after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986,'' Kofler said. ''But what has happened as a result of those events and others is that Germany started to become more aware of its environmental footprint. It partly answers your question of why Germany is so far ahead of countries such as Australia in terms of renewable energy and attitudes towards climate change.

''Australia is seen as a highly polluting country, yet it has so much sun and renewable resources. My question for you is why does it not do more?''

It is a question that baffles many Europeans and one that now lies at the feet of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Ms Gillard has said she will unveil Labor's climate change policy at the National Press Club in Canberra tomorrow. With Labor having gone into the last election promising a price on carbon, and now delaying that pledge until 2012 at the earliest, the rest of the world will be watching to see how it proposes to reduce emissions.

The government's unwillingness so far to follow the European Union's lead and put a price on carbon is also restricting investment in renewable energy in Australia. While some Australians remain fearful that a carbon price will result in mass job losses and depress the economy, the German experience tells a different story.