New Zealand won't sign 'Kyoto 2' climate treaty

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand says it won't sign on for a second stage of the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty.

The announcement came Friday soon after Australia said it would commit to "Kyoto 2."

The treaty aims to curb international greenhouse gas emissions through binding national commitments. But some question its effectiveness after many of the world's biggest polluters, including the U.S. and China, didn't sign on.

New Zealand's climate change minister, Tim Groser, says he remains committed to emission reductions agreed to under the first Kyoto Protocol. But he says the country will be better served in the future by joining the U.S., China and others in a nonbinding climate pledge under the United Nations Framework Convention.

Opposition lawmaker Moana Mackey called it a "day of shame."