Australia branded worst climate performer ahead of UN summit

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A think tank says Australia is the worst climate performer among comparable developed countries. The Climate Council’s report measures Australia’s progress since nations pledged in the 2015 Paris agreement to take action to limit global warming. It comes days ahead of a key U.N. conference in Scotland that is widely seen as the last chance to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to commit Australia to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, but some lawmakers in his coalition are resisting. Morrison is unlikely to persuade his colleagues to agree to a more ambitious 2030 target before he goes to Glasgow.