An Auspoll survey commissioned by environmental and activist groups and the ACTU found just 19 per cent rated Labor as better on climate change - its lowest level of support on the issue in 11 polls since March 2007.

Fifteen per cent preferred the Coalition, which has promised $3.2 billion to ''buy'' emission cuts but opposes carbon trading and would not force industry to pay to emit greenhouse gases.

Taken two weeks before Julia Gillard became Prime Minister, the survey underlines the government's failure to justify its decision to delay an emissions trading scheme until at least 2013.

Ms Gillard's position on emissions trading has been ambiguous since she replaced Kevin Rudd on Thursday. She has said she supports a carbon price, but has declined to back Mr Rudd's timetable of reviewing whether to introduce emissions trading at the end of the current period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

Asked yesterday if she had pushed Mr Rudd to dump emissions trading she said she had been concerned by the lack of public consensus on climate change.

''I will be prepared to argue for a price on carbon, to lead, so that we get to that lasting and deep community consensus, but we're not there yet,'' she told the Nine Network.

She promised announcements about ''practical measures'' on climate change while the government worked on building a consensus.

The Auspoll found 83 per cent of voters were concerned that pollution was making climate change worse. Most believed the main parties were indistinguishable on the issue, including more than 80 per cent of uncommitted voters.