Climate hopes: The 21 APEC leaders will discuss carbon trading in Sydney this September. (AFP)

Carbon trading deal unlikely at APEC: Govt

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull is playing down the chances of a major breakthrough on emissions trading at this year's Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Sydney.

There are hopes that the 21 APEC leaders will strike a global deal on carbon emissions trading at the September meeting.

The new plan would include the US and China in setting a price on carbon and a target for greenhouse gas emissions.

But Mr Turnbull has told Channel Nine that is unlikely.

"I think it's unlikely that a regional carbon trading [scheme] would spring out of the APEC meeting at the end of the year but certainly, the pathway to getting there is certainly something that we have to focus on," he said.

Labor leader Kevin Rudd yesterday said the announcement was a pre-election stunt and the Federal Government should have acted five years ago.

"Mr Howard's problem is he goes to our friends and neighbours in the region with no credibility because his Government has been denying the reality of climate change for more than a decade that it's been in office," he said.

The ALP said the Government's plan was a step down from the Kyoto Protocol.