Qatar’s natural-gas crown may be slipping: Australia is forecast to become the world’s biggest liquid natural gas (LNG) exporter by the end of the decade. The timing looks fortuitous, with climate change becoming a bigger focus in ­emerging economies. Major cities in India and China are battling pollution amid ­rising domestic ­pressure but Beijing and Delhi will not be able to ditch cheap coal for ­renewables ­overnight, ­making natural gas an ­obvious bridge to clean energy. Gladstone is set to become a mining ­boomtown by the sea: it is home to Australia’s fourth-largest port and has three LNG projects about to come online, supplying gas to Japan, China and South Korea.

The winds of change are blowing in Australia. Public opinion has turned back in favour of reducing carbon emissions and the federal government has announced AU$2.5bn (€1.6bn) funding for renewable-energy ­projects, with solar a priority. However, a refusal to set specific carbon-reduction targets has prompted individual states to push forward unilaterally. Households in New South Wales can now sell solar power back to the network; other states have grander ambitions. South Australia wants to be a domestic leader on climate change by cutting emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and attracting AU$10bn (€6.4bn) in low-carbon investment. State capital Adelaide will compete with Copenhagen to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city.

Canberra’s AU$5bn (€3.3bn) Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is the ­latest attempt by the federal government to turn the vast and undeveloped north of the country into Asia’s food bowl, placing the frontier city of Darwin in the spotlight. The Northern Territory wants to make the state capital a more liveable city and triple its population of 150,000. It is largely cut off from Asia – Philippine Airlines is one of the only international carriers to fly direct to Darwin – so city-planners, architects, civil engineers, property developers and airline bosses should drop in on a conference in June to see how work is progressing.

Australia’s ocean territory is one of the world’s largest but a preoccupation with cattle farming means its marine resources to go untapped. As demand for seafood is pushed higher by Asia’s growing middle classes, fish farming is expected to put more protein on the table than wild fishing. Yet Australia’s ­existing aquaculture is a minnow compared to industry big fish Chile and Norway. But some firms have shown ­potential: Tassal pioneered salmon farming in Tasmania, turning it into Australia’s largest contributor to aquaculture production.

Australia already educates Asia’s middle-class youth; international education is the country’s fourth-largest export. Rising wealth in countries such as Indonesia and China could mean healthcare is the service sector’s next superstar export. Australia is recognised for its quality healthcare and it has an impressive pedigree in medical inventions, from ultrasounds to robotics.

As well-heeled Asians age they will ­increasingly demand high-quality, hi-tech healthcare in areas such as cancer treatment, so Victoria’s state government is in the middle of a three-year initiative to help businesses sell their services overseas.

While there are opportunities out there from the outback to Byron Bay, you will mostly need a fair chunk of capital to jump on the bandwagon. However, when we look at Australia we also see gaps in the market for new ventures and smarter, smaller-scale investments. Here’s a rundown.