The Nationals have scrapped their commitment to the net zero by 2050 climate target and will instead aim to bring down Australia’s carbon emissions in line with the rest of the world.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said his MPs had come to a unanimous position as he announced the new policy following a party room meeting in Canberra on Sunday.

“We continue to believe that we need to reduce emissions, but we’ve got to do it in a better, fairer, cheaper way for all Australians,” Littleproud said.

“We believe that we can peg ourselves to the rest of the world. We’re not going to be a laggard, but we’re not going to streak ahead.”

Littleproud said the Nationals’ decision was about “bringing common sense back to climate and energy policy”.

“This is about saying we’re going to live up

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