Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she is "focusing on the positives" in the face of criticism from Liberal backbenchers over the historic climate change deal reached in Paris.

Key points: Julie Bishop says she's focusing on positives of Paris climate deal

Julie Bishop says she's focusing on positives of Paris climate deal Greg Hunt praises says deal is "most important environmental agreement ever"

Greg Hunt praises says deal is "most important environmental agreement ever" Liberal MP Dennis Jensen says deal is "essentially meaningless"

Liberal MP Dennis Jensen says deal is "essentially meaningless" Scientific experts welcome pact but pressure Government to do more

The global climate change conference adopted an international accord, aimed at transforming the world's fossil fuel-driven economy within decades and slowing the pace of global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Australia's target of a 26 to 28 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 remains unchanged, but the Paris agreement will put pressure on the Government to do more.

Liberal MPs Craig Kelly and Dennis Jensen have criticised the deal, but Ms Bishop said it was an important step forward.

She told the ABC that Australia performed exceedingly well in Paris, adding that "we got what we wanted".

"I've just got off a plane after 24 hours flying and I'm focusing on the positives," she said.

"I'm focusing on the fact that Australia is part of an international agreement that for the first time has all countries committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while balancing economic growth."

Environment Minister Greg Hunt also praised the deal, describing it as "arguably the most important environmental agreement ever".

But Mr Hunt noted that meeting the agreement would not be "cost free" and could not confirm a decrease in coal exports.

He said no changes to export laws were planned, leaving the responsibility for reducing fossil fuel dependency with other countries.

"What matters is that individual countries meet their caps," he said.

Deal is 'essentially meaningless,' Jensen says

The deal puts in place mechanisms to review reduction targets every five years starting from 2020, which will include Australia.

Each stocktake will have to result in a more ambitious target, something that Mr Jensen has warned against.

The prominent climate change sceptic has claimed that the agreement is "essentially meaningless".

"Basically countries set their own targets and there's no enforcement strategy," he said.

"The entire globe needs to have similar commitments and be similarly achieving those goals.

"[There is] no reason why we should be metaphorically burning our economy just to appear good on the global stage."

Mr Kelly used Facebook to poke fun at the proposal, quoting from an opinion piece by Danish academic Bjorn Lomborg.

Libs not 'fair dinkum' on climate change: Shorten

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that Labor would have taken an internationally linked emissions trading scheme to the Paris conference, if they had been in power.

Historic climate deal Deal to limit global warming to "well below" 2C, aiming for 1.5C

Deal to limit global warming to "well below" 2C, aiming for 1.5C Greenhouse gas emissions need to peak "as soon as possible", followed by rapid reduction

Greenhouse gas emissions need to peak "as soon as possible", followed by rapid reduction Deal will eliminate use of coal, oil and gas for energy

Deal will eliminate use of coal, oil and gas for energy Fossil fuels to be replaced by solar, wind power

Fossil fuels to be replaced by solar, wind power Developed countries to provide $US100b a year from 2020 to help developing nations

Developed countries to provide $US100b a year from 2020 to help developing nations Read about more highlights of the deal

Mr Shorten said that the Coalition was not "fair dinkum" on climate change action, describing the government's Direct Action policies as "discredited".

"We all know that Tony Abbott and now Malcolm Turnbull have signed up to a set of climate sceptic policies which aren't fair dinkum," he said.

But Mr Shorten stated that coal would remain "part of the energy mix" going forward.

"There will always be a role for coal," he said.

'For the first time the science is lining up with the agreement'

Scientific experts in Australia have welcomed the Paris pact, but say the deal will put pressure on the Government to do more.

Marine scientist Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg was an observer delegate in Paris, where he joined forces with Sir David Attenborough to screen a new documentary about the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said the agreement is encouraging but there is a lot of work to be done.

"For the first time you've got the science lining up with the agreement that's struck and I think that's a first, but again, the real work now starts, because our current pledges here in Australia and of course internationally, get us to 3 degrees or more and that's a very dangerous place to be," he said.

Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at the Australian National University Associate, Professor Frank Jotzo, was also at the talks in Paris.

He said the deal puts pressure on Australia to come up with a national target that is in line with the ambitions of the global agreement.

"All countries will need to strengthen their target and that means for Australia a significant strengthening of that 2030 target and the policy settings that are presently in place wouldn't get us anywhere near, even the existing 2030 target," he said.