Secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’

Antony Blinken says Biden administration will challenge those failing to cut reliance on coal as Scott Morrison emphasises costs of action

The Biden administration is ready to challenge countries whose inaction on the climate crisis is setting the world back, including those that fail to cut their reliance on coal, the top American diplomat has warned.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, called for much stronger action to address global heating over the course of this decade, hours after Australia's prime minister, Scott Morrison, continued to emphasise the costs of acting on climate change.