However AMWU official Steve Dodd said the Federal Government's final CPRS must include significant investment in communities that will be most affected.

``This scheme is going to impose the biggest change... since the privatisation of the Latrobe Valley's power industry,'' Mr Dodd said.

``The money that comes from the scheme needs to be directed to the community as this is the region most affected.

``The heart is the community and the wages from the power industry flood across here ... and people are concerned about the impact of the CPRS on the community.''

Mr Dodd recently told The Express the union feared the introduction of an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would threaten jobs but now felt they would be safeguarded by the scheme.

``I don't believe job will be impacted if the change to clean coal technologies is managed correctly,'' Mr Dodd said.

``We all want to be part of the change to ensure that we get positive results which will continue to protect these jobs.''

The scheme released a fortnight ago, will encourage high emitters of carbon dioxide to introduce technologies to drastically reduce their output of CO2.

But there are concerns new clean coal technologies will cost millions and unless the power generators received transitional assistance from the Federal Government, they would be forced to close.

This in turn would threaten thousands of jobs in the power industry.

However the scheme's green paper has indicated coal-fired power generators will receive some form of limited assistance through the Electricity Sector Adjustment Scheme.

Mr Dodd believes clean coal technologies in the Valley would boost employment by creating ``new industries''.

``The ETS is a real opportunity to develop new technologies which can be exported to other countries like India and China and this in turn can be a new industry,'' he said.