Industry, green groups push Australia for action after it fails to adopt new emission targets By Reuters – Investing.com

Industry, green groups push Australia for action after it fails to adopt new emission targets By Reuters – Investing.com

By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Industry and green groups in Australia called on Friday for the government to step up action to cut carbon emissions after it failed to match ambitious new targets pledged by the United States and others at U.S. President Joe Biden's climate summit. Australia is the highest per capita carbon emitter among the world's richest nations, yet Prime Minister Scott Morrison made no pledge at the summit on Thursday to hit net zero by 2050. Nor did Morrison proffer any change to Australia's commitment under the Paris Agreement to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2030, although speaking to media on Friday he left the door open to a new target. Morrison told the virtual summit: "Australia is on the pathway to net zero. Our goal is to get there as soon as we possibly can." In contrast, the United States promised to halve its emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and Canada committed to a 40-45% cut on 2005 levels by 2030. The UK and Japan also announced tougher targets this week. Climate and energy experts expect Morrison to come under pressure to step up commitments