Global pressure continues to mount on Australia to commit to net-zero emissions, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison is still avoiding it.
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The PM told world leaders during a virtual climate action summit convened by US President Joe Biden that future generations would "thank us not for what we have promised, but what we deliver".
"Our goal is to get there as soon as we possibly can," Mr Morrison said.
"For Australia, it is not a question of if, or even by when, for net-zero but, importantly, how. That is why we are investing in priority new technology solutions, through our technology investment roadmap initiative."
The PM's lack of any new climate commitment is in stark contrast to other major countries, including the US, who have significanty upgraded their emissions reduction targets.
The US committed to a 50-52 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, Canada pledged 40-45 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels, and the United Kingdom will work towards a 78 per cent reduction by 2035 from 1990 levels.
During his speech to the summit, Mr Morrison spruiked the fact Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world.
He also told the summit Australia hopes to produce the cheapest green hydrogen in the world.
The PM has previously expressed a preference for Australia to reach the emissions target.
"Our goal is to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050," Mr Morrison told the National Press Club earlier this year.
"In Australia, my government will not tax our way to net zero emissions. I will not put that cost on Australians. And I will particularly not ask regional Australians to carry that burden," he said.
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