A new report which states Australian coal should be left in the ground has understandably angered the mining industry.

The latest report from the Climate Commission says that in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, 80 per cent of global fossil fuel reserves should stay buried. The report has been labelled ‘taxpayer-funded environmental activism’ by the industry.

Professors Lesley Hughes and Will Stuffen, two of the reports’ authors, highlighted the dire need for a global shift away from fossil fuels to avoid disastrous environmental changes.

The federal government's Climate Commission said the results were ‘sobering’, but said there was no other way to ensure global temperatures stay at a manageable level.

"How people react to this is up to the policymakers and governments, as well as investors," said Hughes, "it isn't our job to reconcile the politics of this with the science."

The Minerals Council of Australia has condemned the proposal, MCA chief Mitch Hooke said “there would be severe economic consequences if Australia’s coal industry was eliminated an no tangible environmental dividend... rather than backing extremist proposals, the Climate Commission should be promoting the benefits of carbon capture and storage as a means of reducing emission from coal.”

The report to the Climate Commission is available here.