Greenhouse law changes mean new projects could face ban

A Senate committee has given in-principle support to including a 'greenhouse trigger' in the laws.

The committee also supported including a land-clearing trigger, so any project which clears native vegetation could run into trouble.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) is a federal law which can stand in the way of anything from new hotels to the Tasmanian pulp mill.

It doesn't currently include a greenhouse or land-clearing trigger.

Conservation groups have been pushing for the EPBC to be beefed up. But the federal opposition has warned including a greenhouse trigger in the laws could cost jobs.

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham said expanding the scope of the EPBC would send investors to China or India to build their projects.

"To introduce an EPBC greenhouse trigger is to just load the starter's gun on a race to send Australian jobs elsewhere," Birmingham said.

The Senate committee on environment, communications and the arts has handed down its report on the EPBC.

It was supportive in principle of including the greenhouse trigger, and called for the move to be carefully considered.