Australia won’t allow UN climate goals in UK free trade deal

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government has confirmed it has refused to allow climate change goals to be written into a proposed free trade deal with Britain. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday the trade deal under negotiation with Britain was not the document to include U.N. goals to limit global warming. British ministers had agreed to bow to pressure from Australia to drop binding commitments to the Paris climate change agreement from the bilateral trade deal, Sky News reported citing an email from an unnamed British official sent last month. The report angered environmentalists who questioned Britain’s commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions ahead of hosting a U.N. climate summit in November.