Greens MP Adam Bandt has warned the Coalition's views on climate change and renewable energy will "kill people".

A major report released last week, referencing more than 6000 scientific studies, stated drastic changes are needed in global society to prevent world temperatures from rising by two degrees Celsius.

The Coalition Government says it will not renew or replace the Renewable Energy Target when it lapses in 2020.

Mr Bandt's claim comes on the same day as former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce declared the expected $4.5 billion cost for the Snowy 2.0 scheme would be better off used on funding new coal-fired power stations.

AAP

"The Coalition's energy policy will kill people - it's as simple as that," Mr Bandt told reporters on Monday.

"Australia is going to be one of the countries worst hit by climate change and the Morrison government seems to not care how many people will die because of its policies.

"If Barnaby Joyce is concerned about farmers then he'd want to switch from coal to renewables."

BREAKING: New UN climate report out.



It's official: it's an emergency.



We could hit 1.5 degrees of warming as soon as 2030, which could lead to multi-metre sea-level rises.



If we don't quit coal, we're screwed.#Greenshttps://t.co/xbIHszuMER — Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) October 8, 2018

Mr Joyce told The Australian he would prioritise coal-fired power stations, two months ahead of a decision on the Snowy 2.0 scheme.

He argued initial estimates continue to blow out and could increase to $6.5 billion.

"It is a net energy user - it doesn't create energy," Mr Joyce said.

"You can't increase supply by reducing supply, and this means you need base-load power."

Energy Minister Angus Taylor told The Australian the business case for Snowy 2.0 needed to stack up on "its own merits" to be viable.