Australia's inaction on man-made global warming is holding the country back from advancing on a key global development index.

The Centre for Global Development issues its Commitment to Development Index every year, ranking 27 wealthy nations on their commitment to such things as aid, finance, technology, environment, trade, security, and migration.  Australia did 'okay' by ranking #14, just behind New Zealand which jumped up slots since last year.  The Southern Hemisphere neighbors are the tops of non-European nations.

But the report's authors believe Oz has more to do.

"Australia's trade policies are among the most development-friendly and the foreign aid it gives is high quality.  But if Australia wants to become a development leader, it needs to increase the quantity of aid, and tackle environmental issues and focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said The Centre for Global Development's Ian Mitchell.

"Its low rank is largely due to its poor performance curbing climate change.  It has very low gasoline taxes (only the United States and Canada have lower), high fossil fuel production and the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita of all (index) countries, although it has also had among the steepest emissions reductions over the past 10 years," he continued, "Australia is also the third-largest tropical timber importer."

The report states that Australia offers good opportunities to students from developing nations.  But our country "could improve the number of refugees and asylum seekers it accepts.  The proportion of positive asylum decisions is below average and has fallen for the past three years.  The number of refugees in Australia is below average relative to population and relative to land area."

The non-profit, Washington, DC-based think tank recommends Australia ratify the convention on the treatment of migrant workers and the migration for employment convention.