(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed he'll attend the COP26 climate summit, raising prospects for the laggard nation to finally commit to a 2050 net-zero emissions target.
Australia, one of the world's top fossil fuel exporters, has trailed Group of 20 nations in failing to set a formal goal and Morrison has come under pressure from the U.S. and U.K. Morrison had also previously been reluctant to confirm his attendance at the Glasgow talks, citing a desire to avoid Covid quarantine on his return.
“Net zero was an outcome that I outlined at the beginning of this year, consistent with our Paris agreement,” Morrison said at a press conference on Friday, adding that his government would flesh out its policy position ahead of the global talks. “The challenge is not about the if and the when, it is about the how.”
Morrison's decision to travel comes as prospects for the talks are clouding and with key leaders including China's President Xi Jinping and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro now expected to skip the summit. Nations in Europe to Asia are also ramping up production of coal and other fossil fuels to navigate a global squeeze on energy supply, potentially undermining plans for new targets to accelerate a transition to cleaner alternatives.
Read more: Energy Crisis Adds New Hurdle to COP26 Goal of Ending Coal
Chinese officials have informed G-20 envoys that Xi does not currently plan to attend a summit in Italy later this month in person, and diplomats have said that means he's unlikely to go to COP26 either. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has already downplayed hopes of success, saying nations could fall short of a new agreement on more aggressive action on global warming.
Australia's Morrison said emissions reduction policies should not come at the expense of growth and jobs. His government's junior coalition partner, the National Party, is a strong supporter of the coal industry and has so far been opposed to a net-zero target, citing potential risks to the economy.
Read: Climate Showdown Looms as Australian Disasters Mount: QuickTake
The country's exports of coal, natural gas and crude petroleum reaped A$85.8 billion ($64 billion) last year, accounting for about a fifth of trade revenue. Meanwhile, the country is already experiencing impacts from climate change, from prolonged droughts and longer bushfire seasons to mass coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef.
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