Australia is projected to beat its target for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris accord by 2030, federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said, bringing it in line with many other nations in efforts to counter climate change.
Australia's emissions are now projected to be 29% below 2005 levels by 2030 compared with its Paris accord target of cutting carbon emissions by 26% to 28%.
"When we make commitments, we meet them. We have a clear plan to meet and beat our 2030 target and the updated projections reflect Australia's strong performance," Taylor said in a statement on Thursday.
The announcement came ahead of the United Nation's Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, which Britain is jointly hosting and marks the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Australia's 2030 position has improved by more than 13% of its emissions budget over the last two years, equivalent to taking all of the country's nearly 15 million cars off the road for 15 years, Taylor said.
Australia, the world's top coal and gas exporter, in September said it had plans to invest A$18 billion ($13.39 billion) over the next 10 years in technologies to cut carbon emissions in the fight against climate change.
The A$2 trillion economy is heavily dependent on resources with coal and iron ore among its top export earners.
($1 = 1.3441 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Tom Brown)
