University of Tasmania academic Kate Crowley has headed the advisory body since it was set up by the state government three years ago to provide expert, independent advice on the state's response to climate change.

She said few of the hundreds of recommendations made had been picked up and she was frustrated at the lack of impact it had on state policy.

``I'd like to see the council have more teeth to make changes, more quickly,'' Ms Crowley said.

The future of the council is unclear with its role and make-up under review.

In her submission to the review, Ms Crowley said the council should be elevated to ministerial level to force the state's politicians to take the issues seriously.

``I just got the feeling there's not enough political will to do anything serious about climate change.''

She said position descriptions of department secretaries should include a commitment to climate action and reducing energy emissions.

``They just don't seem to be engaged. They're not proactive and in some cases they're actually resistant.''

In its three years, the council has succeeded in requiring each department to develop a plan to reduce its carbon emissions and report its progress each year.

Last year, the state government released Tasmania's Action Plan to Reduce Carbon Emissions identifying six priority areas.

Ms Crowley said they were important areas to be addressed, but said they fell well short of what was required.

In its advice to Climate Change Minister Cassy O'Connor, the council has repeatedly urged the government to focus on achieving zero growth in emissions and called for a coordinated approach to ensure emissions flatten out.

Among recommendations rejected was a plan to make owners of petrol guzzlers pay higher car registration fees.

Ms Crowley said it would provide an incentive to motorists to buy fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Infrastructure, Energy and Resources Department has ruled out changing the registration fee structure.

``The incentive would only apply to a small proportion of the registration fee which is not large enough to provide an incentive - the majority of the registration fee is made up of compulsory third party motor accident fees which fund our no-fault compensation scheme for people injured in a motor accident,'' a spokesman said.