Australian prime minister will attend Glasgow climate talks

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister has confirmed he will attend a climate summit in Glasgow next month despite his government remaining bitterly divided over a draft plan for the country to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government’s next climate plan will protect the interests of “rural and regional” Australians who complain that they’ve borne the brunt of previous reforms.The conservative government aims to reduce Australia’s emissions to net-zero and preferably by 2050, but hasn’t committed to that target. Australia has not budged from its 2015 pledge at the Paris climate conference to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030, despite many countries adopting far more ambitious targets.