Australia to put forward unchanged carbon cuts to United Nations

Australia on Wednesday said it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by between five and 25 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020, depending on the commitments of other nations.

By an AFP reporter in SydneyPublished: 12:25PM GMT 27 Jan 2010

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the proposal, consistent with that taken to global climate change talks in Copenhagen last month, would be submitted to the UN.
"Consistent with our commitment to do no more and no less than the rest of the world, we are today submitting our existing target range: five percent unconditional, with up to 15 per cent and 25 per cent both conditional on the extent of action by others," Wong said in a statement.

The minister said Australia's target range was in step with that expected from other nations.
The non-binding Copenhagen Accord noted in the global talks committed nations to limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), but it failed to set targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts.
Experts say Australia's proposed cut of up to 25 per cent of 2000 levels would be roughly equivalent to cuts of up to 24 per cent of 1990 levels because record land-clearing allowed up until 1990 no longer occurs