Australia’s Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg has said the country needs to get involved with global commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Whilst speaking to an Australian Industry Group forum, he cautioned Australia could be left lagging by global economic shifts to tackle climate change.

Frydenberg said ahead of his speech that the government hadn’t as yet made any formal decisions to commit to net zero by 2050, but talks were progressing.

“We are making progress on the internal discussions,” the Treasurer stated.

“I am being very clear that Australia needs to be part of these international agreements, and we can’t allow a false assumption or a false conclusion to be drawn by international investors about what Australia is doing.” 

As it stands, Australia’s government has objectives to reduce emissions by 26% and 28% by 2030, and is forecast to publish a revised policy ahead of November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Moreover, National Party leader Barnaby Joyce announced his party would look at the issue, but warned about making mistakes with the country’s energy mix.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison added the government would be further considering its plan when he returned to Australia from the U.S.

“I’ve already said at the start of this that it’s Australia’s ambition to move towards and to achieve net zero as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050,” Morrison said. “That’s been my consistent statement since the beginning of this year.”

Frydenberg’s speech was set to acknowledge financial markets were taking climate change into account and those shifts would adversely affect Australia’s economy, which relies heavily on foreign investment, unless its objectives changed.

“I want to make sure that Australia on the one hand is not disadvantaged by this structural shift in financial markets and on the other hand can take advantage of it by getting new investments in renewable energy and other sustainable industries,” Frydenberg told the ABC.