Scott Morrison has told world leaders that scientists, not politicians, will come up with the fix for climate change.
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The prime minister's address to the COP26 summit in Glasgow emphasised the need to provide developing countries with low-cost ways to cut emissions.
He compared the challenge of tackling climate change to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
"And it will be met by those who are, frankly, largely not in this room," Mr Morrison told the summit early on Tuesday, Australian time.
"It will be our scientists, our technologists, our engineers, our entrepreneurs, our industrialists and our financiers that will actually chart the path to net zero.
"And it is up to us as leaders of governments to back them in."
Mr Morrison said cleaner technologies needed to outcompete existing means of production, but did not mention fossil fuels.
"This needs to work not just in the developed economies of the North Atlantic, but in the developing economies of the Indo-Pacific as well," he said.
"Raising the cost of energy just impacts on those who can afford it least."
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Mr Morrison said developing lower-emissions technologies was at the heart of Australia's target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Reductions to date and Australia's previously-released announcements on soil carbon, hydrogen, and controversial carbon capture and storage technologies make up 60 per cent of Australia's projected emissions cuts.
Another 30 per cent lies with "further technology breakthroughs" and "global technology trends", with domestic and international offsets projected to make up the gap.
"The scene is set. Global momentum to tackle climate change is building," Mr Morrison said, adding 90 per cent of Australia's exports went to countries with net zero commitments.
"Our researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and most importantly our people are ready. The Australian way is to bet on them - and we think that's a good bet.
Mr Morrison talked up Australia's updated projections to cut emissions by between 30 and 35 per cent on 2005 levels this decade.
But former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia could not take credit for something it refused to make enshrine as a target.
"A projection is ... just a guess. So that there's no question that the the failure to increase our 2030 target is disappointing," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
"We have to face up to the fact that we've got to stop burning coal and gas, got to stop burning fossil fuels."
Mr Morrison announced $500 million more in climate finance to Pacific and Southeast Asian countries, bringing Australia's total commitments to $2 billion.
Separately, Fiji signed up to Australia's Indo-Pacific carbon offsets scheme.
Modelled on the coalition's emissions reduction fund, the scheme "is designed to develop a high-integrity carbon offset scheme in the Indo-Pacific region".
"The partnership will see our two countries share expertise to ensure Fiji is internationally recognised as a source of high-integrity carbon mitigation outcomes," Mr Morrison said in a statement.
- Australian Associated Press
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