As the leader of one of the few developed nations yet to commit to net-zero emissions, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just found himself even more isolated.
Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election means the United States will join a growing list of nations making the pledge, including some of Australia’s biggest customers of fossil-fuel exports such as Japan, China and South Korea.
Morrison, who once brandished a lump of coal in parliament in support of the fuel, is also increasingly exposed at home as corporate capital piles into renewables and many Australians demand greater action to tackle climate change after a summer of deadly wildfires.