UN climate talks: Australia accused of 'cheating' and thwarting global deal

Morrison government criticised for planning to use accounting loophole to meet emissions target

Disagreement over Australia's plan to use an accounting loophole to meet its climate target will spill into 2020 after a United Nations conference in Madrid failed to reach consensus on rules to implement the global deal.

As talks dragged past the scheduled Friday close into Sunday afternoon, Australia was accused of "cheating" and named by other countries and conference observers as one of a handful of nations that thwarted a deal on the rulebook for the Paris climate agreement.