Some of the country’s biggest retirement savings funds have been meeting with senior Coalition figures to press them to put aside their infighting about climate change and pave the way for them to spend billions of dollars on the energy transition in regional areas.

Major investors including Rest Super, Cbus, First Sentier and BNP Paribas delivered the message to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, Coalition energy spokesman Dan Tehan and Matt Canavan, the Nationals Party senator who has been an outspoken critic of emissions reduction targets.