That's according to the boss of Australia's biggest energy producer Woodside, who will sound the warning in an address to the Melbourne Mining Club on Thursday.
Meg O'Neill urges the nation to stay focused on being competitive in global markets, pushing for an energy policy debate "based on science and facts, not wishful thinking".
"Amid rising global protectionism and greater competition for capital, Australia must sharpen its competitive edge even further," she will say.
"Moves by the new administration in the US to deregulate the economy and spur new energy investments make the challenge for countries like Australia even more acute."
President Trump has promised to "unleash" reliable energy and natural resources by scrapping regulations and encouraging more energy exploration in the US, while threatening tariffs on imports.
Ms O'Neill also targets environmental approvals at home, urging the federal government to allow an extension to a Woodside project in Western Australia that's been tied up for years.
"We understand the need for robust environmental assessment, but when an approval to continue to use existing infrastructure takes more than six years, it's in nobody's interests," she will say.
'It does not give Australia a competitive edge, or better environmental outcomes."
Australian energy giants are eyeing off the potential of gas in Asian markets, with Ms O'Neill stressing it would be key to securing "the biggest bang for buck" for decarbonisation.
Switching 20 per cent of the continent's coal-fired power stations to gas would slash emissions by 680 million tonnes a year, equivalent to one and a half times Australia's total annual net greenhouse gas emissions, she argues.
"The reality is we get far more impact from replacing coal in Asia with Australian (liquefied natural gas), than we do from asking Australian consumers to switch their household appliances from gas to electric."
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