CHINA, India and other major developing nations have rejected a push by the world's richest countries for them to commit to firm targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
In a setback for international climate negotiations, the emerging giants of the world economy yesterday refused to endorse a statement by the Group of Eight wealthy nations in which they proclaimed a "shared vision" to at least halve emissions by 2050.
The so-called "Group of Five" developing economies - China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa - say rich nations must take the lead on emissions cuts, as they were historically responsible for climate change.
Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has warned that an emissions trading scheme to help combat global warming will have a wide effect on prices.
But climate change was the biggest threat to Australians' prosperity and way of life, she told a conference in Canberra.
Grants from the $500 million green car fund could be made available before its 2011 start date to speed up production of an Australian hybrid car, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.
Mr Rudd will visit Toyota executives at the car giant's international headquarters in Nagoya on Tuesday, where they are expected to announce the production of a hybrid Camry at the company's Altona plant in Melbourne.
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