By CHRISTIANE BARRO

Peak bodies in climate research have spoken out after the Federal Government announced its new emission reduction targets early last week.

The Abbott Government said it would cut emissions by 26-28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.

This was much less than required and would put Australia substantially behind other comparable countries' efforts, Climate Change Authority chairman Bernie Fraser told the ABC on Friday.

Australian Climate Council senior media advisor Jessica Craven said Australia had no reason to be behind.

“Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world … with enough renewable energy resources to power the country 500 times over,” Ms Craven said.

“Yet Australia is one of the largest emitters per capita. The pollution from our coal resources alone if developed could take us two-thirds of the way towards a two degree rise in global temperature.

“We need a higher target.”

Australia has the potential to be 100 per cent renewable in power with zero net emissions by 2050, a report from Australian National University and WWF showed. However, experts said the Abbott Government had sent mixed messages to investors looking for long-term security.

“The Government has said that it cut the renewable energy target because there was an oversupply of electricity, but recently has made the comment that they cut the renewable energy target because they wanted to limit the growth of new native plants,” Ms Craven said.

The 2015 report on global trends in renewable energy investment by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre saw Australia drop out of the top 10 investors in renewables.

Investment in large-scale renewable energy projects in Australia dropped by 88 per cent in 2014, according to the 2015 Climate Council report.

ClimateWorks Australia project manager Eli Court said he believed it was possible to reach the current target, but only if policies were amended and better incentives put in place.

“It is possible with a mix of energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification of everything that’s feasible and commercially viable to electrify, and then some off-setting through things like carbon forestry,” Mr Court said.

Mr Abbott last week said he  would not be attending the United Nations Climate Change summit to be held in Paris later this year. Instead he will send Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop.

In the bid to tackle climate change, many countries and global organisations attending the conference have already accelerated their efforts to stay below a two-degree increase. 

China declared it would aim for a 65 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, and businesses such as Ikea announced plans to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

The Climate Commission has called this the "critical decade", where climate change action is necessary to stay below the two degree limit.

“If emissions are not tracking downwards significantly by the end of this decade, it is unlikely we will be able to stay below two degrees,” Ms Craven said.

Mr Court said we had to make sure all infrastructure under construction and any future developments had zero net emissions by 2050.

“The later you leave it to make sure that the new assets you’re building are as energy efficient and emissions non-intensive as possible, the more costly it is going to be later in the century.”

“Australia is missing out and the longer we try and fight this global trend, we are going to be playing catch up instead of being at the forefront of research and development for renewable energy … it’s time to get on with the job.”