Australian exporters, investors and governments need to urgently prepare for a global shift in metal and mineral demand, or risk losing a multibillion-dollar industry.

Experts in climate change, mining and foreign trade issued the warning at an Australian National University event in Canberra on Wednesday, which heard demand for some of Australia's biggest exports was expected to plunge by 2050.

Private investment, policy changes and deals with southeast Asian trading partners could prevent the downfall, they said, and represented a significant financial opportunity.

The warnings come two weeks after the federal government released its 2035 emissions reduction target and after a report by The Superpower Institute found Australia could triple its iron ore export revenue by 2060 by shif

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