Matt Kean says Australia must take ‘strong and decisive action’ on climate crisis despite Trump re-election

Matt Kean has said past evidence, including in Donald Trump’s first term as president, showed states, territories and the private sector would continue to act on the climate crisis. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The chair of the Climate Change Authority, Matt Kean, has declared Australia must take “strong and decisive action” to address the climate crisis despite Donald Trump’s return to the White House, arguing the world needs cheap renewable energy and the country can provide it.

Kean, a former News South Wales Liberal treasurer and energy minister, told Guardian Australia there were “enormous opportunities and benefits” in taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, no matter who was US president.