Especially after the former opposition leader had staked his political career on blocking the Rudd government's emissions trading legislation, Mr Bowen said.

The Coalition is demanding that Labor respect its victory in the September 7 election, and not block attempts to repeal the carbon tax. Mr Bowen said the prime minister-designate was in no position to "lecture other people about mandates".

"We're not . . . looking forward to receiving a lecture from Tony Abbott on the issue of mandates, when his entire rationale for returning to the leadership was to provide an obstacle to the Labor Party implementing its mandate in office," Mr Bowen told Sky News yesterday.

"The Labor Party has made correctly the view publicly that climate change is real, that's it's happening, that governments should act, and we need a constraint on carbon. That's a pretty fundamental thing, and I think we should stick by that view."

Labor leadership candidate Anthony Albanese says the party has to stand up and argue its case on climate change. "If you believe that climate change is real, and I do . . . you've got a responsibility to act," Mr Albanese told Sky News, saying "market-based mechanisms through an emissions trading scheme" were the way to go.

"The risk is sitting . . . thinking: 'Gee whiz, I wish we hadn't have rolled over and pretended that climate change wasn't happening.' "