Hopes gas will play the role of a so-called transition fuel towards a low-carbon future are dimming as costs of renewable energy dive and its emissions edge over coal is increasingly questioned, a new report by the Climate Action Tracker argues.

Governments promoting the use of natural gas, especially in the power sector, risk encouraging investments in assets that will become stranded if nations take commitments to the Paris climate pact seriously, it said.

Gas may not offer much of a transition fuel away from coal afterall. Credit:Bloomberg

The analysis comes as the Turnbull government is accused of delaying the release of Australia's quarterly inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. The last release was in December, more than half a year ago.

To meet the Paris goal of keeping global warming to under 2 degrees versus pre-industrial times requires the complete decarbonisation of the world's power sector by 2050, the Climate Action Tracker report said.