The Australian business community will be left behind by global competitors unless it takes advantage of low carbon opportunities, Minister for Employment participation Mark Arbib said, according to the AAP.

He rejected the claims that Australia would be penalised economically by shifting to a low carbon economy, saying: ”Let’s be clear. Transitioning to a low carbon economy does cost … but as other countries have found, it also creates profound opportunities.”

AAP also qoted Arbib as saying: ”The sooner we transform our economy to take advantage of these opportunities, the bigger the competitive advantage.”

Speaking at a business lunch in Sydney, Arbib reportedly also said that a market-driven emissions trading scheme is the best way to tackle the issue.

“It goes without saying that Australian businesses need to be in the main game or risk being left behind,” he is quoted as saying.  ”Even in developing countries like China very big green changes are happening.”

Arbib’s comments build on recent research, which ranked Australia last among G20 countries in its ability to remain wealthy as the world shifts to a low carbon economy. Only South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia fared worse.

The report — a product by London-based consultants Vivid Economics that was commissioned by the Climate Institute — showed that claimed about economic risks of tackling climate change are “outdated and backward.” It  also found that the world was already moving to low-carbon products: last year for the first time global investment in clean energy outstripped investment in fossil fuel technology.