Anthony Albanese has seized on Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires to reinforce the need for immediate action on climate change, launching a fresh attack on Peter Dutton’s nuclear power ambitions for delaying a response to global warming.

The images of flames engulfing some of the world’s wealthiest neighbourhoods coincided with international scientific agencies declaring 2024 the hottest year on record. The global average temperature was 1.6 degrees above the pre-industrial average, breaching the 1.5-degree limit experts say is necessary to avoid dangerous climate change.