The three countries are hoping to impose export-credit restrictions for coal-fired projects, in the latest move to reduce carbon pollution by placing emission limits on new power station in a bid to limit foreign investment.

The joint proposal asks the OECD delegates to discuss whether they should require new power plants to meet a strict carbon emission standard, similar to one proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

"We propose a fulsome discussion of a carbon emission performance standard in the context of broader efforts to use export credit policy to combat climate change, including of how incentives and conditions could reinforce each other," the draft said.

Delegates will discuss how the program might contribute to addressing climate change.

To date, Japan has contributed nearly half of the $US32 billion ($A34.2 billion) put towards overseas coal projects between 2007 and 2013.

As well as cutting domestic production, US President Barack Obama has said the US will limit its investment in overseas coal projects and has encouraged other nations to do the same.

Institutions such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have also vowed not to fund coal-fired power plants unless extreme circumstances arise.