Australia expects less than 1,000 companies to pay carbon tax

CANBERRA Australian plans to impose a set price on carbon emissions would affect fewer than 1,000 companies, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said on Monday.

Combet also said he expected Australia's emissions trading scheme would be internationally compatible once the scheme had passed beyond its fixed price period, which will run three to five years from July 2012.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Ed Davies)