Abbott sticks with climate ambition

Australia won't be more ambitious when it comes to cutting carbon emissions, says Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

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Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) shaking hands with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (AAP)

Australia won't be committing to a cut in emission targets beyond the existing pledge, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott on Tuesday met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The UN has scheduled a summit for September as a step towards a new global climate agreement to be reached in 2015 through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The summit is not part of the actual negotiating process, but the UN chief wants to use it to reinvigorate the climate debate as the potential for global action stalls.

Mr Abbott told reporters in New York his government supported "strong action" on climate change and was investing $2.5 billion on emission cuts.

But he would not be modifying the government's plan.

"It's very important that every country take strong action to limit the rate of growth of emissions," he said.

"We know in Australia what we are going to do - we are going to get our emissions down by five per cent by 2020.

"We will be a good global citizen, but what we are not going to do is clobber our economy."


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