On Monday Mr Gore met state government ministers from Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, telling media afterwards that he had been impressed by work they were doing in moving to address climate change.

But he was more circumspect when asked about the national picture and the Abbott government's decision to scrap the carbon price.

While keen to avoid overt criticism, Mr Gore – a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the world's most prominent climate campaigners – said Australia was viewed by many globally as a leader in the "community of nations".

"It always has been, and some have been scratching their heads of late wondering what has been going on," Mr Gore said.

He said with Australia still to release its post-2020 emissions targets it was too early to pass judgment  on the federal government. But he added that according to opinion polls the majority of Australians wanted climate action and if that was ignored by government, "then head scratching would get more intense".

Mr Gore was also somewhat optimistic about the prospects of the Paris summit starting in late November, at which countries are hoping to sign a new global deal to curb global warming. He pointed in particular to last year's historic climate agreement between China and the US – two of Australia's largest trading partners.

"This is the tipping point year for action on climate. The meeting in Paris is shaping up as a success," he said.

Mr Gore also sought to define cutting emissions as an opportunity for economic and jobs growth. He said the US state of California had adopted strong measures to cut greenhouse gases, including its own emissions trading scheme, while at the same time had seen its economy and jobs grow.

A slide presented to a meeting between Al Gore and state climate ministers in Melbourne on Monday by Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board.

Speaking at the same press conference, Victorian Environment Minister Lisa Neville said she expected to see strong action from Australian states and territories on climate change between now and Paris.

"What we don't want to see in Victoria, or across Australia really, is to miss out on substantial investment in renewable energy or energy efficiency or low emissions-type jobs," she said.

Mr Gore said renewable energy technologies were developing rapidly and falling quickly in price. He said previous forecasts of how much global solar power would be installed each year were already being smashed, and along with energy efficiency measures, significant green industry jobs growth was occurring in the United States and elsewhere.

"The only question is which nations, which states and provinces, which regions, will move boldly into the future and harvest the jobs and economic progress associated with this revolution," he said.

Later on Monday Mr Gore met federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. He then held a roundtable with academics at the University of Melbourne before giving a presentation to staff and students on the science and dangers of climate change.

Answering questions from PHD students after his presentation, Mr Gore expanded on his expectations for Paris saying he believed there would be an agreement and people would feel it was a "solid movement forward". But he said he was less confident the agreement would meet the internationally agreed goal to keep global warming below two degrees.

Mr Gore added that any agreement in Paris would build more momentum in the shift towards renewable energy and sustainability in the market place.