Nationals unanimous in abandoning net zero

The Nationals have unanimously agreed to abandon formal climate targets at a party room meeting, setting up a potential fight with their coalition partner the Liberals.

The regional party has walked away from its previous commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, a long-held goal of Australian governments from both sides of politics.

Instead, Nationals Leader David Littleproud says the country's greenhouse gas emissions should be tied to an average of similar countries within the OECD.

"When you're only a bit over one per cent of total global emissions, you can hardly mitigate the world's emissions," he told reporters after the meeting.

MPs were briefed on a report from the Page Research Centre which makes dozens of recommendations, including allowing government subsidies for coal powe