Biden adviser says Australia won’t lose sovereignty under Aukus, warns China wants to ‘break’ country
Australia won’t lose its sovereignty under the Aukus deal, according to Joe Biden’s top Indo-Pacific adviser, who has sought to clarify his prediction of a “melding” of Australian, US and UK military forces. Kurt Campbell on Wednesday also said the US president had raised Beijing’s trade strikes against Australian export sectors in his recent virtual meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping, as an example of actions on the world stage that were “backfiring”. Campbell accused Beijing of waging “dramatic economic warfare” against Australia by imposing tariffs and unofficial import bans on Australian wine, barley, seafood and coal over the past 18 months. He argued Beijing’s preference “would have been to break Australia, to drive Australia to its knees” – but it would not succeed. Campbell, a top adviser to Biden as the coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the US National Security Council, is seen as a key figure in the formation of the Aukus deal security partnership, which was unveiled with much fanfare in September. He told a Lowy Institute conference on Wednesday the Australian plan to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines was an “enormous challenge” given that Australia “has no nuclear industry per se”. The 18-month study period would find out whether there were any “road blocks that were insurmountable”, but the leaders of Australia, the US and the UK would not have announced the deal they did not think it was an achievable goal, Campbell said.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.