Never mind the politicisation of energy and carbon policy – the market and legal system is moving rapidly to instil the discipline and punishment the government isn't game to discuss.

That was the core of the climate change bombshell dropped by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority on Friday. The policy vacuum will be filled by the personal liability of company directors and the disclosure requirements of financial regulators.

If the ABC's Insiders program and the federal Environment and Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, are any guide, Canberra hasn't yet grasped the importance of the speech by APRA executive board member, Geoff Summerhayes, to the Insurance Council of Australia forum.

In keeping with the Paris Agreement Australia has signed and the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) policy development, APRA leaves no room for climate sceptics. Both the obvious physical and perhaps less obvious "transition" risks of climate change are real and present dangers to the financial system APRA is charged with safeguarding.