Australian of the Year and celebrated climate scientist Tim Flannery has joined Greens Leader Bob Brown in calling for an end to coal exports, saying exporting coal could no longer be considered to be in Australia’s national interest.

“That time has already come and the social licence of coal to operate is rapidly being withdrawn globally, and no government can protect an industry from that sort of thing occurring,” Flannery told ABC TV.

Brown said today that Australia should do away with coal exports and instead “rapidly transform to being the world’s largest exporter of solar power technology, other renewable energy options and energy efficiency technology – creating thousands of jobs and a multi-billion dollar export income in tandem with the replacement of coal.”

But the nation’s coal mining industry employs 28,300 workers according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and Prime Minister John Howard told Sky News that stopping coal exports would be devastating to mining communities throughout Australia as jobs were sacrificed.

He said the issues surrounding global warming would be addressed, but in a practical way that did not unfairly disadvantage the economy.

Howard also admitted that clean coal technologies would be needed to cut carbon emissions in the future.

“We also accept if we are to cut carbon emissions that we have to find ways of reducing the carbon that comes out of the burning coal. One way of doing that is to have clean coal technology," he said.

Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche agreed that phasing out coal exports would be devastating, considering the industry employs some 20,000 people in the state and is responsible for one in every four jobs in central Queensland.

“The implications for all Queenslanders of destroying this industry should be self-evident, and chilling,” Roche said.

Roche said Brown's rationale for eliminating the coal industry in Queensland didn't add up.

“Australia's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions from coal – including all exports – is 1.7 percent,” he said.

“Shut the Australian industry down and coal buyers will simply go somewhere else to fuel their power stations and operate their steel mills.”

District president of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Wayne McAndrew told the Illawarra Mercury that the industry was under increasing pressure to reduce global emissions from the burning of coal.

“If we want our mining industry to continue, we've got to start looking at cleaner technologies," he said.

“The pressure will come on the industry more and more – you've got the environmentalist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery calling for an end to all Australian coal exports.

“No more coal exports would mean no more coal mines, and that would have a massive impact in the Illawarra."