﻿Labor is poised to shake up its position on fossil fuels, with a key internal lobby group pushing for Bill Shorten to "start a global conversation" on the future of mining, and leaving coal in the ground.

After months of internal debate, the Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) has drafted a policy for the party to follow, which would put a ban on any public funds being used to subsidise the fossil fuel industry and shift communities reliant on mining into other industries.

Federally, Labor has attempted to walk the line between pushing for a shift to renewable energy while remaining in support of fossil fuel mining, with electorates, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland, still heavily reliant on the sector.

But the party has so far resisted pressure, particularly from the Queensland Labor government, to support using the Northern Australian infrastructure fund to help private mining companies build a train line deemed critical to opening the Galilee Basin up to coal mining.