Obama talks climate change with Australian PM

President Obama on Thursday discussed the need to confront climate change with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

{mosads}Despite excluding climate change from their post-meeting remarks, White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed that the two leaders talked about the issue during their meeting.

“They talked about the importance of confronting climate change,” Carney said during the White House press briefing. “President Obama emphasized the need for ambitious domestic climate change policies as the basis of a strong international response.”

“The United States will continue working with Australia to advance climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency solutions, including in the context of the G-20. So this was certainly a topic of discussion,” he added.

Back home, Abbott is working to scrap Australia’s carbon tax on polluters, and has said climate change is not a top priority.

“Is it (climate change) the most important issue the world faces right now? I don’t believe so,” Abbott said after visiting the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. “It is one of a number of significant issues that the world faces, and we will do our bit.”