Australia's conservative opposition said Thursday it will drop its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 if it wins power and leads a country dependent on fossil fuels but highly vulnerable to climate change.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government has poured billions into solar power, wind turbines and green manufacturing and pledged to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.

It has also pledged to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent from 2005 levels over the next decade and is campaigning to co-host next year's UN climate summit alongside Pacific Island neighbours -- some of the most climate-threatened nations in the world.

The opposition centre-right Liberal Party have agonised in recent weeks over whether to drop the

See Full Page