Treasurer Joe Hockey has acknowledged the climate deal struck between China and the United States is significant, but stresses the focus of the G20 remains on economic growth.
Just days out from the G20 leaders' summit in Brisbane the world's two biggest polluters announced a bold plan to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The deal puts further pressure on the Abbott government to include climate change on the G20 agenda - a push it's rejected thus far.
Mr Hockey said Australia welcomed the US-China climate pact, and he's sure it would be discussed by world leaders during the G20.
"But they are part of the agenda. They are not the whole agenda," he told reporters on Thursday.
"The whole agenda is focused on growth and jobs."
The treasurer said climate change was "both a risk and an opportunity" for the world economy.
But he couldn't emphasise enough the need to focus on economic growth.
The overarching goal of this year's G20 is a commitment by world leaders to collectively boost global economic growth by two per cent over the next five years.
The G20 member countries have already submitted about 1000 policy ideas for meeting this target, and those plans are being assessed by the IMF and OECD.
Mr Hockey said the agenda was simple but bold, and the real challenge would be implementing the initiatives.
"The leaders that are coming here represent 85 per cent of the world economy," he said.
"As such there is a heavy burden on the shoulders of leaders and finance ministers to deliver on the plan to grow economic growth right across the world."
Mr Hockey said global tax avoidance was also a key issue, and the Brisbane meeting was focused on "driving hard" an agenda which ensured companies paid tax to the country where they earned the profits.
"It is theft when someone does not pay the tax that is due to a nation," he said.
"It undermines the ability of that nation to be able to deliver the sorts of services that are essential to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality."
A formal commitment to rein in companies that use profit shifting and other accounting tricks to avoid or evade tax is part the formal G20 negotiations.
G20 finance ministers will meet again on Friday to continue negotiations on unresolved issues.
But Mr Hockey is confident the summit will lay down plans to ensure banks that are "systemically important" to the global financial system remain properly capitalised.
"Too-big-to-fail initiatives will be in place," he said.
Mr Hockey earlier visited a police operations base and toured the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre where the G20 will take place.
The hub will host about 4600 delegates and 3000 members of the media.
Mr Hockey seemed most impressed when a young volunteer asked to take a selfie with him.
"Oh my God, you just made my day," Bonnie Johnston told the treasurer as he approached.
"At least there's one Australian who says that," he replied.
He also had some one-on-one time with some special delegates from Australia Zoo - April the koala, Occa the 52-year-old cockatoo and Rusty, a black-headed python.
