Anthony Albanese's opponent vows to ditch major policy if elected prime minister… and it will make every greenie in Australia very unhappy

Peter Dutton has vowed to ditch Australia's commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change, sparking fury from environmental campaigners.

The Opposition leader confirmed he will dump the legally-binding commitment to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 if he becomes prime minister.

The Coalition has argued that remaining committed to the Paris Agreement is doomed to fail, while smashing Australian industry in the process.

Instead, Mr Dutton said he was committed to reaching net zero by 2050 but wants to see nuclear power play a role in that ambition. 

'They (Labor) just have no hope of achieving the targets and there’s no sense signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving,' Mr Dutton told The Australian. 

He added: 'You can’t have the Prime Minister saying we aren’t going to have coal, we aren’t going to have gas and were not going to have ­nuclear power and we are going to keep the lights on – that’s just ­fantasy. 

'We now have a debate about energy which I think we can win.'

Energy Minister Chris Bowen slammed the move, saying the Paris Agreement was internationally-binding.

'At the moment, the countries outside the Paris accord are Libya, Yemen and Iran. Is Mr Dutton proposing to take Australia into that company now,' he said.

This criticism was reflected by environmental groups who accused the Liberal party of adopting a 'wildly inappropriate' position. 

'Mr Dutton's plans would be an international disgrace and it would trash our relationships with key allies who are depending on Australia to adhere to keeping 1.5 degrees alive,' Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanasy said. 

'Mr Dutton is also banking on a nuclear fantasy which Australia does not need and Australians do not want.'

Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said opting out of the Paris Agreement would make Australia a 'global laughing stock'.

'Dutton's climate policy is a disaster, and the consequence for Australians would be more extreme heat, fires and floods,' she said.

'Instead of ripping up Australia's 2030 climate targets, Peter Dutton must listen to the communities already ravaged by worsening climate disasters.'

 Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Dutton 'was never serious about climate change'.

'He still won’t tell the Australian people where he plans to put his nuclear reactors - or how much they will cost,' Mr Albanese wrote on X.