Developed nations have 'responsibility' to cut emissions

Developed nations have the historical and moral responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions to improve the environment, Australia's first Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny Wong, said yesterday.

"We are a developed nation. We have to take the lead in it (emissions cut)," Wong told reporters in Beijing, adding that Australia "absolutely respects" China's rights to develop.

Wong is in China as part of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's four-day visit, which ends tomorrow.