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| "It's another trip overseas... and I've spent a lot of time in quarantine," Scott Morrison told the West Australian newspaper.Mr Morrison, who became leader in 2018, has consistently defended Australia's climate policies as adequate. (Photo by= Reuters) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Australia's prime minister has signaled he may not attend the UN's landmark climate conference in November as his government faces continued criticism of its poor climate record. BBC reported that during an interview, Scott Morrison said he had "not made any final decisions" on attending, suggesting it was a burden.
The COP26 summit will be the biggest global climate crisis talks in years.It's hoped that the 12-day meeting between world leaders in Glasgow, Scotland will produce the next emissions standards to slow global warming and keep temperature rise below 1.5C. But Mr. Morrison said he would consider other priorities, including the reopening of Australia's borders. Australia, one of the world's top exporters of coal and gas, is one of 200 countries expected to present their updated 2030 emissions cuts at the meet.
Mr. Morrison has said he wishes Australia to achieve net-zero emissions "as soon as possible", but hasn’t outlined any measures to do so.His government has resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, a goal already pledged by the US, the UK, and many other developed nations.In July, a UN report ranked it last out of 170 member nations for its response to climate change. And despite Australia's claims to the contrary, the UN has previously said the nation is not on track to reach its modest Paris Agreement targets of a 26-28% cut on 2005 levels by 2030.
