Speed up investment and cut red tape around building the transmission for renewable energy to power new jobs, or risk falling behind, the industry has warned.
"Australia's prosperity and quality of life depend on the decisions that everyone in this room makes now as leaders," Paul Gleeson, head of energy at engineering giant Aurecon, told a business summit at federal parliament.
That means doubling down on investment and quickly securing market share in green steel, ammonia and hydrogen, Mr Gleeson said.
He said delays in transmission projects keep him awake at night, and put jobs and new industries at risk.
"Right now, we must make it a priority to decarbonise Australia's electricity markets," Mr Gleeson said.
"We don't need to wait to see what other technologies emerge.
"We have a clear and least-cost pathway in the form of bulk wind and solar, with transmission, storage and firming assets to be deployed as the key enabler of these low-cost renewables."
Oil and gas producers are also backing other decarbonisation options, such sucking emissions out of the atmosphere to store permanently underground and developing liquid hydrogen derived from gas for use by refineries and factories.
For Origin Energy boss Frank Calabria, the two critical concerns were getting enough transmission built and ensuring there is backup to support the growth in grid-scale solar and wind.
He said renewables will increasingly provide the "lion's share" of energy supply but energy storage and other backup, or firming, will be crucial.
Origin is betting on long-term demand for "peakers" - gas-fired plants with units that can quickly switch on in minutes, not hours, during high demand and quickly power down when not required.
"We must be honest with the community that we simply cannot ensure reliable power supply without building additional gas peakers," Mr Calabria said.
"A functioning capacity mechanism is critical to encouraging the necessary investment in new firming supply," he said, referring to a plan for taxpayers to support the ongoing decarbonisation of the grid.
But more renewables won't happen until the transmission infrastructure is in place, he warned.
That means working with communities to make sure the benefits are shared, including jobs, he added.
Mr Calabria said better co-ordination was needed across all levels of government to save time and money.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia event that approvals would be quicker if projects were designed well to begin with.
Chevron boss Mark Hatfield called for an "honest dialogue" about how to balance energy needs and the environment.
"Our view is that natural gas has a long-term role in providing energy," Mr Hatfield said.
He said Australia can continue to play a leading role in energy security at home and in Asia, including by deploying more carbon capture and storage and developing hydrogen.
Aurecon's Mr Gleeson said Australia must also plan for very challenging climate impacts and extreme weather events, with it looking increasingly likely the world will breach the 1.5C limit on global warming.
"There is a lot at stake if we get this wrong," Mr Gleeson said.
