THE Federal Government is changing its tack on climate change: fostering public support to combat a mounting pile of political opposition.

This week the Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, will visit schools and attend community meetings in the hope of recapturing the public enthusiasm for action on global warming that helped bring Labor to power in 2007.

"We have always known that we need to communicate with the community in a range of ways," a spokesman for Senator Wong said yesterday. "As well as talking about how we deal with climate change, it's also important for us to remind people about why [we deal with it]."

The Government has devoted the past year to developing an emissions trading system that has been difficult to explain. Discussion has been mired in details about compensation for businesses as well as claims and counter claims from the industries that will be directly affected.

The scheme faces a diabolical future in the Senate. The first of three separate inquiries into its operation is expected to begin next week.

Senior staff say the development of the scheme was necessary but it has been difficult to sell to the public.

But other Government sources said people were not worried about its introduction and they had detected no dampening in enthusiasm for action.

"Wherever possible we're getting out and communicating in a bunch of ways," one source said. "It's not on the boil in the same way as it was, but it's still something people are pretty hot under the collar about."

In an effort to make sure the public stays on side, Senator Wong will spend this week in town halls and classrooms, reinforcing the need for aggressive action on climate change.

Yesterday she visited Cammeray Public School after receiving a "flood" of letters from school children eager to share their ideas with her. Senator Wong was said to be impressed with student ideas, which included longer buses to reduce the need for cars and hybrid Ferraris.