Australia bested only South Korea in the list of six major trading partners that implement measures in reducing carbon pollution dependence, this according to the Vivid Economics report commissioned by The Climate Institute.

Set to be made public in Sydney on Tuesday, the new report called on countries with no existing emission trading scheme or carbon tax to gear their economies into lower pollution environment.

The Vivid Economics report measured the six countries' environmental performances by pitting their respective climate change policies to their indirect pricing policies such as pollution price tag, subsidies and regulations which is then gauged in dollars per tonne of carbon pollution.

Returning the best numbers so far was the United Kingdom, which has chalked up a European ETS equivalent price tag that is about 17 times better than that of Australia's.

Erwin Jackson of The Climate Institute said that UK's investments on low pollution economic initiatives now rival its expenditures on healthcare and infrastructure, with a clean energy effort bill of up to $US11 billion or $A11.1 billion as of 2009.

Even amidst the financial difficulties that plagued the European continent in the past few years, Mr Jackson noted that an estimated "900,000 people are now employed in the UK in low pollution businesses and jobs in these sectors have been growing strongly despite the UK's economic downturn."

Even fast-rising economic giant China, with its perceived runaway consumption of carbon intensive energy sources, was able to edge out Australia as it occupied second place in the report by pouring clean energy investments of up to $US35 billion or $A35.35 billion in the same year.

The report showed that Australia placed fifth and turning in only a better performance against South Korea, which occupied the last spot.

Mr Jackson attributed Australia's results on efforts made to achieve renewable energy goals and policies advanced by the country's state authorities on implied carbon price.

He said that the new study pushed forward the belief that an ETS calibrated with economic goals could be the key to achieve reasonable pollution reduction measures and in Australia's case, the ball is now in the hands of the multi-sectoral climate change roundtables established recently by the federal government.

Mr Jackson also stressed that "alongside a price tag on pollution, urgent measures are needed to make clean energy cheaper, reduce energy bills and improve energy productivity."