Australia has a huge opportunity to be a significant green export player, but leading industrial executives warn the chance will be missed unless the government quickly puts in place the right supports to give companies the confidence to invest.

The general manager of Rio Tinto’s Pacific Renewable Energy unit Vik Selvaraja said it was critical that Australia get the right policy frameworks in place as soon as possible to make goods such as green steel or aluminium before the opportunity is grasped by other countries.