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Malcolm Turnbull has pushed clean energy to the forefront of his innovation drive by signing Australia up to a Barack Obama and Bill Gates-led plan that will pour billions of dollars into research to combat climate change.
It came as the Prime Minister prepared to tell 150 world leaders at the Paris climate conference on Monday that Australia wanted a strong global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would be prepared to pledge deeper cuts in coming years if a deal was agreed. 
To be announced on the first day of the conference, the "Mission Innovation" initiative will require 20 countries - including the US, China and India - to each double clean research and development funding over the next five years.
For Australia, that is expected to mean an additional $100 million spending. Across the 20 countries, it would increase public investment from $10 billion to $20 billion.
The details of Australia's spending is expected to be laid out in an innovation statement next week.
The pledge by governments will sit alongside a similar program backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates that would see 28 of the world's wealthiest investors - including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Virgin's Richard Branson and Jack Ma, of China's Alibaba Group - pool money to develop technologies that show promise in a bid to bring affordable clean energy to billions of people.
The group, which calls themselves the "Breakthrough Energy Coalition", has a net worth of $350 billion. In a statement, Mr Gates said: "Given the scale of the challenge, we need to be exploring many different paths, and that means we also need to invent new approaches."
Back in Australia, there were signs of discomfort among some government MPs over the possibility of an increased commitment beyond the pledged target of a 26-28 per cent emission cut on 2005 levels by 2030.
In Parliament, Mr Turnbull was reminded as to the limits of his authority on the world stage by his own deputy Liberal leader, Julie Bishop.
"The Prime Minister reiterated in Paris ... that the targets of 26 to 28 per cent will not be negotiated at the Paris climate change conference," she told the House of Representatives.
"That is our target ... he was not changing government policy. Government policy remains the same. Our target is 26 to 28 per cent."
But Coalition MPs remain nervous. A proposed international ban on government subsidies for fossil fuels caused Nationals and some rural Liberals to express strong concerns.
Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen took to Twitter, describing as "madness" any agreement which would apply to the diesel rebate for farmers.
But it was revealed on Monday night that Mr Turnbull had rejected a statement of support for fossil fuel subsidy reform, breaking the news to New Zealand counterparts in a last minute call.
Supporters of the diesel fuel rebate say it is not a subsidy but a "business input" that should not be taxed.
Greens Leader Richard di Natale said Mr Turnbull needed to match his words with actions. He pointed out it was still government policy to abolish two organisations responsible for driving investment in clean energy innovation - the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
"How can you, on one hand, say you support innovation and science, and on the other hand want to abolish ARENA and the CEFC?," he said.
"That is really going to be what Paris is about for Malcolm Turnbull - whether he's just another politician who says one thing and does another."
Before arriving in Paris, Mr Turnbull spoke of the role innovation can play in solving climate change.
"I am optimistic that innovation and technology can play a very big part in the discussions in Paris," he said.
"The solutions to the climate change challenge lie very much in the field of technology and innovations, which is a very key part of my government's priorities."
The countries signing up to Mission Innovation contribute 80 per cent of the world's public clean energy research and development spending. Each country had also committed to reporting regularly on their progress towards the meeting Mission Innovation's goals.
Other countries involved are Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the initiative had its roots in Mr Obama's   January visit to India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a champion of solar energy development.
The diplomatic work to bring the project together ahead of Paris intensified over the the past two weeks.
Under the Mission Innovation project, each country will have its own emphasis on the type of clean energy research it will pursue.
For example, Germany is understood to be focusing on the efficiency of wind and solar energy. Saudi Arabia will focus on carbon capture and storage, and removing hydrocarbons from cooling technologies.
Erwin Jackson, deputy chief executive of the Climate Institute, said commitments to zero emissions innovation were important to minimise the cost and maximise the benefits of modernising economies. 
"But it is just one part of the jigsaw," he said.
"We already have the technologies needed to achieve a zero emissions power sector. The best technology in the world is useless if it stays in the laboratory. Clear policies to drive investment and deployment remains the central test of any credible climate policy."
With wires
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