The government's top energy security adviser Kerry Schott has warned "national leadership" is needed on emissions policy as the relentless uptake of renewables transforms the electricity market, pushing Australia to a greener future but jeopardising the reliability of the grid.

Entrepreneur and investor Paul Bassat also called for this summer's bushfire crisis to be a "Port Arthur moment", sparking more aggressive measures to reduce emissions, similar to gun law reform after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that required state and federal co-operation.

Dr Kerry Schott, chair of the Energy Security Board. Credit:Louie Douvis

Dr Schott, the chair of the Energy Security Board, said the country's catastrophic bushfires revealed the need for a resilient energy system and warned a lack of national policy was making management of the grid increasingly difficult.

"The big picture is we have got an enormous amount of renewables coming into the system, both large and small scale. Solar is generating more than gas, wind generating more than brown coal. With all of that said, we are still burning a lot of coal," Dr Schott told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.