Finkel review criticises climate policy chaos and points to need for emissions trading

Exclusive: Report warns investment in electricity has stalled, and existing policies won't allow Australia to meet its Paris target

Australia's chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has said investment in the electricity sector has stalled because of "policy instability and uncertainty" - and he's warned that current federal climate policy settings will not allow Australia to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement.

In a 58-page report that has been circulated before Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting between the prime minister and the premiers, Finkel has also given implicit endorsement to an emissions intensity trading scheme for the electricity industry to help manage the transition to lower-emissions energy sources.