The Nationals have formally abandoned a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party would shift its focus to climate adaptation instead of being "focused solely" on reducing emissions, noting Australia's small share of the global effort.

The Nationals leader proposed pegging Australia's emissions reduction efforts to the OECD average, which he said was about half the pace of the nation's current trajectory.

"Regional Australia is being torn apart [by net zero]. let's do this in a fairer way," he said.

"We're not going to be a laggard, but we're not going to streak ahead."

The decision by the junior Coalition partner will set the tone of coming talks with the Liberals on a joint position on emissions reduction and responding to clim

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