Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said new coal power generation is no longer competitive in Australia and predicted a major shift to renewables.
Mr Turnbull discussed energy policy on the sidelines of the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.
"One of the big potential disruptions [to Australia] is going to be the move away from burning coal to generate energy," he said.
"There is a lot of life in thermal coal yet, but the arrival of really cost-competitive renewable energy, zero marginal cost generation from wind and solar, plus more and more affordable storage, means that in many markets including Australia new coal-fired generation is just not competitive."
"That's going to be a factor that will have an impact on one of our biggest imports"
Over recent months, the Coalition was hit with divisions as pro-coal MPs pushed for funding towards a new power station.
The issue fuelled doubts over Nationals leader Michael McCormack's leadership after Barnaby Joyce threatened his tenure before retreating.
Earlier in March, Mr Turnbull warned on against the "idiocy" of a fresh internal brawl in the Coalition over coal-fired power.
The government released a shortlist of a dozen energy projects earmarked for taxpayer support on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the projects would inject a total of 4000 megawatts of power into the National Electricity Market.
The shortlist includes gas, hydro and a "very small" coal upgrade at Lake Macquarie, Mr Morrison added.
In addition, a feasibility study would be conducted into ways to meet the energy needs of heavy industry in north and central Queensland.
He named a project based at Collinsville, a central Queensland town which is home to the state's oldest coal mine.
On Thursday, a new report revealed the number of coal-fired power projects being developed globally has decreased steeply and showed investors are stepping away from coal.
The report, by Global Energy Monitor, Greenpeace Environment Trust and US-based environmental organisation Sierra Club, found in 2018 there were 20 per cent fewer newly completed coal plants and new construction starts dropped 39 per cent compared to the year before.
