Parliament is debating the government's proposed changes to the safeguard mechanism, which would apply to the 215 biggest emitters in the nation and aim to reduce emissions by 205 million tonnes by 2030.
With the coalition opposing changes to the policy it initiated in 2016, the government needs support from the Greens and two other votes in the Senate to pass its election promise to cut carbon emissions.
In exchange for their support, the Greens want the government to stop opening new coal and gas projects.
Asked whether the Greens would withhold support for the mechanism if they didn't get the "perfect" policy, party leader Adam Bandt said they were simply asking the government not to make climate change worse.
"We're not asking for the perfect. We're asking for the bare minimum," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
"We will pass the government's policy and put it into law if they just do one thing: stop making the problem worse."
Crossbenchers have also proposed "sensible" amendments to the bill, believing the current mechanism does more to safeguard fossil fuel companies than avert the impacts of climate change.
"We're getting to the pointy end now and it's not over until it's over," independent MP Helen Haines said about negotiations with climate minister Chris Bowen.
Dr Haines earlier proposed a network of 200 agricultural extension officers and said farmers wanted to play their part in reducing emissions as climate change threatened their livelihood.
Farming communities in her regional Victorian electorate were concerned about the impact of the safeguard mechanism which had too much reliance on the agricultural sector to offset emissions in other sectors, she said.
"Let's not set our farmers up for failure. Let's listen to their calls for support to navigate the risks and opportunities in the carbon market," Dr Haines told parliament.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said while negotiations were continuing, she was optimistic of the safeguard's success in the upper house.
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie largely supports the mechanism but has concerns about the time frame for reducing emissions for manufacturing businesses.
"It will not be able to meet those targets, simply because the machinery they need has not been invented yet, so that is a real sticking point with us," she told Sky News.
"Other than that, we're pretty happy with the rest of the bill, so we're just waiting for the Greens to stop playing their games."
Senator Gallagher said the coalition had dealt itself out of negotiations.
However, opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said more information was needed from the government.
"We want to see the modelling. We want to know what the impact will be on households, what the impact will be on cost of living," he told Sky News.
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the laws should be passed as soon as possible to provide policy certainty for businesses to decarbonise.
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