Australia's Labor Party has criticised the government for not committing to specific mandatory greenhouse gas emission targets in a draft environmental declaration prepared for September's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull retorted that APEC leaders would not accept binding targets and the way forward was creating energy-efficient economies.

"You've got to remember that most of the fastest growing industrialising economies, China being the classic case - now the world's largest industrial power, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases - are not going to agree to binding targets on the basis of the Kyoto model," Mr Turnbull said.

"Every meeting, every engagement, is one that builds confidence and trust and a recognition that we have a shared destiny on this planet, and we have to work together to achieve, globally, environmentally effective reductions in emissions," Turnbull said.

The draft declaration was leaked to Greenpeace and allegedly proposes goals to cut energy use by at least 25 per cent by 2030 and strategies to curb deforestation.

However, Opposition environment spokesman Peter Garrett said without mandatory targets, the document made a mockery of claims APEC would be the most crucial climate change summit in 15 years.

"The APEC document, if accurate, does not include a commitment to a binding target alongside acknowledgment of UN processes, and it exposes the government's weak and inconsistent position on climate change," Garrett said.

"This document is very disappointing. In the heat of an election campaign where the prime minister is making big claims on climate change, this document shows he actually delivers little in terms of results," Garrett said.

Greenpeace energy campaigner Ben Pearson said the document has been designed to make Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W Bush look good to their citizens rather than actually address climate change.

"This is a 'Made in the USA' declaration, covered with Australian coal dust," Mr Pearson said, "If the federal government is really serious about dealing with climate change, John Howard would be ratifying Kyoto and setting targets, not engaging in a talkfest." THE END