Australia won't rush to set a post-2020 carbon emissions reduction target before considering what commitments its key trading partners plan to make.
And when the target is set it will be one "we know we can deliver", Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.
"Australia should not and will not go this alone," she said from UN climate change talks in Lima.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who is accompanying Ms Bishop, has indicated Australia may not sign up to a new global agreement if its trade partners aren't pulling their weight.
Ms Bishop called on developing nations with large economies, such as China and India, to do more to curb emissions and stop relying on their developing status as an excuse not to act.
Negotiations at previous UN climate talks have been plagued by developing nations arguing they have a right to catch up on emissions.
But Ms Bishop says the binary differentiation between nations is not appropriate in this day and age.
"We must move past an approach that puts a brake on meaningful action."
That approach has led to the Greens labelling Australia as the "chief obstructer" at the Lima talks, where nations are thrashing out guidelines for a global agreement in 2015.
Greens leader Christine Milne is urging other nations to go hard on Australia, claiming its delegation will try to weaken a global deal.
The government has established a taskforce to develop Australia's post-2020 emissions plan, with instructions to watch action by trading partners and large emitters.
Australia is aiming to cut emissions by five per cent by 2020 and the government will announce a post-2020 target by mid-next year.
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