Global reset on climate action leaves Scott Morrison looking like yesterday’s man | Katharine Murphy

At Joe Biden’s virtual summit, achieving net zero by 2050 was considered a given, not something you might do, possibly, if Matt Canavan lets you

While Australians slept on Thursday night, an extraordinary dynamic played out at Joe Biden’s climate crisis summit.

Many leaders (Germany’s Angela Merkel most directly) expressed relief that the United States was back in the business of global climate leadership after the wasteland of the Trump era, and countries formed an orderly queue to reward their Washington rescuers with significant emissions reduction pledges in the near term.

Related: The US climate target blows Australia's out of the water | Frank Jotzo

Related: Australia has been talking up its climate credentials – but do the claims stack up?