The newly appointed chairman of the Climate Change Authority, Grant King, has given a ringing endorsement to a net zero emissions target, ahead of the revamped work program to be assigned to the advisory agency by the Morrison government.

The new role for Mr King, a former long-serving CEO of LNG exporter Origin Energy and former president of the Business Council of Australia, was met with a storm of protest from environmental groups convinced that the former coal power and gas executive will act as a brake on urgent action needed to reduce emissions.