Australia committed to Paris agreement: PM

CANBERRA -- Australia's prime minister has rejected calls from conservative colleagues to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Speaking ahead of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison repeated his previous claim that Australia would meet its emissions reduction target "at a canter."

Australia has committed to reducing its emissions by 26 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Conservative members of the government have called on Morrison to abandon the emissions reduction target, claiming that abiding by it will lead to rising power prices.

"When Australia puts its word to something, it means something," Morrison said.

"This is an enormously important issue to our partners in the Pacific, who are strategic partners in the Pacific.

The Opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) has promised to introduce a 45 percent emissions reduction target if victorious at the upcoming general election.