On April 11, 2024, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese introduced the Future Made in Australia agenda1 with the ambition to make Australia a Renewable Energy Superpower. This agenda is just one of a flurry of legislative acts or documents issued by Australia’s federal and state governments to support this ambition, including • Future Gas Strategy2 for an expansion of gas industry “and the decarbonisation of Australia’s energy grid” on May 9, 2024 • Queensland’s Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 20243 and Clean Economy Jobs Act 20244 approved on 18 April 2024 • Queensland’s 2035 Clean Economy Pathway: 75 per cent by 20355 • Reforms to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) framework6 on May 1, 2024 • A new Federal budget on 14 May 2024 including A$22.7 billion for Future Made in Australia over ten years, especially for renewable energy and critical minerals7 as well as A$54 billion funding for fossil fuels over five years through a fuel tax credit program.8

These acts signal a pivotal shift away from traditional neoliberal economic policies towards a mission-driven approach in the new "geo-economic game", as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explained: “This is not old-fashioned protectionism or isolationism—it is the new competition—we must recognise that the partners we seek are moving to the beat of a new economic reality.”

Do these announcements (and an allocation in the federal budget) set up Australia and Queensland to be a credible host of COP31? How do these developments impact Australia’s cooperation with Asia and the Pacific? Based on our analysis of these policies, we find Australia is engaging in what might be termed “koala-kangaroo” agenda—taking some leaps while not letting go of the old: Australia has made significant progress with policies and funding to accelerate its green energy transition. Yet several contradictions and omissions in these policies—particularly lack of fossil fuel phase-out, lack of energy efficiency ambitions, and increasing restrictiveness to cooperation with China (the world’s green technology leader) should be addressed to increase Australia’s credibility to transition rapidly to a low-carbon or zero-carbon future, particularly in Pacific countries suffering disproportionately from climate change.

Accordingly, we developed six recommended actions to accelerate a just green transition in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region:

1. Develop framework for a just transition away from fossil fuels domestically
2. Establish framework to incentivise energy efficiency gains
3. Develop policy framework for accelerated reduction of fossil fuel exports
4. Establish high-level bilateral dialogues for accelerated reduction of fossil fuel trade, for example Australia-China climate policy dialogue
5. Improve domestic industrial competitiveness through better industry collaboration
6. Position Australia as a leading regional knowledge partner in green energy transition