In a keynote speech to the New York Climate Week summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Anthony Albanese said it was not a matter of if, but when, the next large-scale natural disaster would take place.
Opening the summit on Tuesday, Australian time, Mr Albanese said the resilience of communities and emergency responders to natural disasters should no longer be the status quo.
"As leaders, we must match their bravery," he told the summit.
"Unfortunately, without strong action, the science tells us these events will get worse and more intense.
"We can't rely on the fortitude of our people alone, as tough as they are. We need to come together to meet the problem head on."
While weather patterns had always been unpredictable, large-scale natural disasters would become more common in future, Mr Albanese added.
Record-breaking temperatures in Europe, as well as a potential summer of extreme heat and bushfires linked to El Niño, would exacerbate the situation, he warned.
"The global community cannot afford to be frozen in time while the world warms around us," he said.
"There's no avoiding the scale of our responsibility or the cost of inaction, because there's no denying what it also represents."
Australia is using its credentials on combating climate change domestically and in the broader Pacific region as part of its pitch for a seat on the UN Security Council in 2029 and 2030.
Mr Albanese said nations could not afford to forget Pacific allies on the climate front.
"(It's) a region where those who've contributed the least to the climate crisis are among the most vulnerable to its consequences," he said in his keynote speech.
"We are backing Pacific action and innovation. Turning up, following through and creating a more connected and unified region."
But the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group said the prime minister could not claim credibility on the international stage for climate leadership when coal and gas projects were being expanded at home.
Former Australian Defence Force chief and group member Chris Barrie said climate change needed to be the biggest security concern for the country.
"If the prime minister is going to New York to say climate security is national security, Australians are entitled to ask a very simple question: where is the plan?" he said.
"The government has yet to set out a clear, climate security framework showing how escalating climate risks are being incorporated."
Also speaking at the Climate Week summit, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said governments across the world needed to link climate security to national security.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which impacted gas markets, as well oil price surges stemming from the war in Iran, highlighted the need for the approach, he told the forum.
"Countries need to pool information because a shock beginning in one country can rapidly travel through supply chains, financial markers and migration patterns to other countries," he said.
"We have to become better at managing shocks."
