Australia has no plans to follow the US and Britain in adopting a tougher target to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

The US and and Britain have promised to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

US President-elect Barack Obama referred to the target in a speech on Tuesday, and said he would launch an emissions trading scheme to achieve the cuts.

British politicians recently signed off on a move to toughen up the 2050 target from a 60 per cent cut to 80 per cent.

The Australian Government has promised to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.

A spokeswoman for Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the target stood.

"The Rudd Government remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 60 per cent from 2000 levels by 2050, as outlined in our election commitments," she said.

She praised Mr Obama's stance.

"We need a global agreement on climate change and we welcome President-elect Obama's commitment to work towards this goal."

Britain and US targets are based on 1990 emissions levels, whereas the Australian target is based on 2000 levels, which are higher.

AAP