Australia's Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley said the party would abandon a target of net-zero emissions. (File photo) Photo: AFP / SAEED KHAN
The government says it is still committed to a net-zero carbon target despite Australia's opposition coalition dumping its net-zero pledge.
Australian Liberal leader Sussan Ley announced on Thursday, her party would formally abandon a target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
It followed a previous announcement by the Australian Nationals that they, too, would ditch net-zero as a goal.
The Australian Coalition said it remained committed to the Paris Agreement.
New Zealand signed its own target into law in 2019, when the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Act passed almost unanimously.
The target required carbon emissions to meet net-zero by 2050, with a smaller reduction in methane emissions.
Climate Change minister Simon Watts announced last month the government would amend the Act to change the methane target, from a 24-47 percent reduction to a 14-24 percent reduction instead.
Climate Change minister Simon Watts. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
However, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Friday, his government would not follow Australia's Coalition.
"We are committed to meeting all of our targets, including net zero by 2050."
Late last year, the Climate Change Commission recommended an even more ambitious target of net-negative carbon emissions, saying climate impacts were getting more severe, faster than expected.
The government was due to respond to that recommendation later this month.
However, it had already rejected another of the Commission's recommendations, which was to strengthen, rather than weaken, the methane target to a 35-47 percent reduction by 2050.
The government's proposed target for methane was in line with a 'no additional warming' goal.
But in its advice, the the Commission said that was not appropriate for a country like New Zealand and it was possible to meet a higher target with uptake of current technologies.
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