After winning the climate election, Labor must be the climate government the whole world needs

‘Prime minister Anthony Albanese has delivered strong messages about a new approach on climate, not just to Australians but also when he attended a major security meeting in Tokyo within days of the election.’ Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The Australian election was, above all, a climate election. It has attracted a lot of international attention on that basis – and for very good reason. Now the government has changed, all eyes will be on the new prime minister, the energy and climate minister and our foreign minister.

The climate inaction of the Morrison government attracted high profile criticism from governments such Fiji, the United Kingdom, the United States, and indeed the UN secretary general – along with many international commentators and scientists.