Australia separating climate from trade
CANBERRA, Australia – Australia's government confirmed Thursday that it refused to allow climate change goals to be written into a proposed free trade deal with Britain, as pressure mounts on it to make more ambitious commitments to cut carbon emissions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the trade deal under negotiation with Britain was not the document to include U.N. goals to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures, and preferably to 1.5 C (2.7 F).
“It wasn't a climate agreement; it was a trade agreement,” he said.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan said climate targets were “never part of free trade agreements.”