Direct Action carbon reduction policy running out of steam

With 83% of the fund spent, the government's central climate policy is almost exhausted, with no further funding committed

The federal government's Direct Action carbon reduction policy appears to be running out of steam, with participation from industry dropping, the cost of the program rising and the budget for emissions reduction nearly exhausted.

The Clean Energy Regulator announced on Thursday it would pay a further $367m to polluting industries, in return for a commitment for them to reduce carbon emissions by 34.4m tonnes.