Some of Australia's closest allies are pushing for an end to coal power, increasing pressure on richer countries to do more to curb climate change.
But the Turnbull government won't be following them.
One of Australia's neighbours says it seems only a change of governments will make the nation end its coal obsession.
New Zealand, the UK and Canada are among 20 countries which have signed up to the Global Alliance for Powering Past Coal, a surprise addition to the COP23 UN climate conference in Bonn, Germany on Thursday (local time).
The group hopes to double in size over the next year.
UK's conservative Climate Change Minister Claire Perry said reducing global coal consumption should be an urgent priority for all countries.
"Unabated coal is the dirtiest, most polluting way of generating electricity," she told the launch.
"The Powering Past Coal alliance will signal to the world that the time of coal has passed."
The alliance covers developed and developing countries, including some of Australia's Pacific island neighbours who are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change: COP23 president Fiji, the Marshall Islands, and Niue.
The Marshall Islands labelled coal the biggest barrier to curbing rising temperatures.
At an earlier event, President Hilda Heine said the country was very disappointed in Australia's continued pursuit of coal mining and energy.
"We hope that maybe a new government can come in and change the position of the current government, which is to continue to promote coal."
Greens MP Adam Bandt said the Turnbull government seemed to be getting Australia caught in a pincer movement and it was "posing an existential threat to many of our neighbours".
"You've now got conservative ministers, social democratic ministers and green ministers sitting side by side committing their countries to phasing out coal," he told AAP in Bonn.
"Each will do it in their own different way but that commitment suggests it's now crossing party lines.
"A door has been opened for the Australian government here."
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said Australia would not be signing up to the Powering Past Coal alliance.
He pointed out the energy mix in those countries that had signed on was very different to Australia, with hydro in some cases and nuclear in others.
He also cited Bloomberg's 2017 energy outlook predicting coal would remain the bedrock of Asia's power supply, accounting for about a third of electricity in 2040.
The government's new energy policy is expected to lead to coal and gas combined making up nearly two-thirds of Australia's power generation by 2030.
At the moment, coal alone generates about three-quarters of Australian power.
"Tens of thousands of Australians ... rely on our coal industry and it does help lift people out of energy poverty in other parts of the world and provides billions of dollars of export income to Australia," he told ABC radio.
The new alliance comprises Angola, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK, plus five Canadian provinces and two US states.
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