Greens leader Richard Di Natale says Labor has learned “all the wrong lessons” from its election defeat, warning that a retreat from action on climate change will see it lose the next election.

Ahead of a new parliamentary inquiry into future employment for regional areas that begins hearings on Tuesday, Di Natale said neither major party had been prepared to have an “honest conversation” with workers in the coal industry who would be affected by the transition away from fossil fuels.

“People were given a choice between a party of climate change deniers … and another party that had different positions on issues like coalmining depending on what audience they were talking to,” Di Natale said.

“I don’t accept for a moment that the election result was a vindication of the government’s pro-coal position [and] if Labor MPs think that their weak position on climate change cost them the election result, well, they better be prepared to lose the next election, and the next one after that.

“It looks like Labor has learned all the wrong lessons in the election campaign and they are now walking away from climate change.”

Following the May election defeat, Labor has been revisiting its policies on climate change and the coal industry, with several MPs attributing swings against Labor in blue-collar communities to the party’s divisions over the Adani coalmine.

Labor’s shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said there was a perception that Labor was “sending mixed messages on the coal industry” and has called for the party to refocus on jobs and the economy.

The party’s shadow resources minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, has said it was a “huge error” for Labor not to talk about coal because of a fear that it would cost city seats.

But Di Natale said the coal industry was on track to shut down regardless of the two major parties positions, and accused the Coalition and Labor of giving coal communities “false hope” that they had a future.

“Right now action on climate change means creating long-term sustainable jobs, it means building investment, it means long-term jobs and investment rather than what we are seeing at the moment which is a government determined to prop up … the coal industry, where even some of the biggest players are saying the era of coal is over,” Di Natale said.

When asked if there needed to be more empathy shown by those wanting a rapid transition away from fossil fuels for those individuals whose jobs would be affected by the end of the coal industry, Di Natale said the problem was on those trying to artificially prolong the life of the industry.

He rejected criticism of the anti-Adani convoy that travelled through regional Queensland seats, saying he believed that the protesters had been well received.

“I think there is definitely a need for more empathy from the climate deniers, from the sceptics, and from the government, and indeed those members in the Labor party that are pretending these issues are not happening and giving them false hope … they are the ones who are lacking empathy,” Di Natale said.

“The reality is the economy is dependent on a healthy environment and vice versa – when we get these transitions right, we will end up with a cleaner environment, a more stable climate and tens of thousands of jobs, and if we don’t, we end up with a climate catastrophe and people with no long-term future.”

Di Natale said the parliamentary inquiry into future employment for regional areas, which will begin public hearings in Melbourne on Tuesday, would look at ensuring workers affected by the transition from fossil fuels to renewables were given “every opportunity” to find meaningful work in new industries.

He also said the inquiry would be an opportunity for the Labor party to declare its vision for jobs in regional communities, saying they needed to “make a choice” on the coal industry.

“It [Labor] either stands with the climate deniers and coal huggers in the Coalition, or it stands with the community and scientists and the Greens and acknowledges the clear reality that we have to get our emissions down, which means no more coal, oil and gas projects.

“Labor clearly needs to make a choice – are they going to continue to be Liberal lite … or embrace what this future could be for people?”