For a national leader who had just been told up to $80bn in fossil fuel export industries were on the chopping block, Scott Morrison seemed remarkably sanguine.

“I am not concerned about our future exports,” the prime minister said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I’m very aware of the many views that are held around the world but I tell you what – our policies will be set here in Australia.”

Morrison’s dismissive response was to a question about what observers say is the biggest shift in international climate politics since the signing of the Paris agreement five years ago. In the space of five weeks, three of Australia’s biggest trading partners – first China and then over the past week Japan and South Korea – promised to go “carbon-neutral” by 2050 or shortly after.

Long-time observers of climate change diplomacy said the scale of what is happening should not be underestimated.

Read the full article on the Guardian website, featuring commentary by Assoc. Prof Llewelyn Hughes