The federal government’s top scientist Alan Finkel says Australia could slash global carbon emissions and create a multi-billion dollar export industry by developing hydrogen as an everyday energy source to replace fossil fuels used in vehicles, homes and industry.

A major climate report on Monday identified hydrogen, which can be produced with virtually no emissions, as among fuel options that must be developed if the planet is stay below the critical 1.5 degrees warming threshold and avoid the worst climate change disasters.

The report by the UN’s climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, called for a coal phase-out by 2050 and predicted a substantial decline in the use of natural gas – two export industries upon which Australia is heavily reliant.

Chief scientist Alan Finkel says a massive hydrogen export industry could help the global transition away from fossil fuels. Credit:Phil Noble

The report distilled 6000 scientific references and was authored by 91 scientists across 40 countries.