It's not economy or environment: Albanese

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says there is a "false dichotomy" that voters must choose between the economy or the environment.

Mr Albanese used his first major policy speech on Tuesday to emphasise clean energy could create "hundreds of thousands" of jobs, but the opposition leader also supported coal mining.

Labor has struggled to deliver its climate change message to the Australian public, and some MPs have blamed it for "losing the unlosable" federal election in May.

Mr Albanese supports Western Australia's growing lithium mining industry and has recognised the importance of continued coal exports.

He said they need to strike a balance between jobs and climate change.

"Good environmental policy is also good for jobs and the fact is as we transition to a clean energy economy there is enormous opportunity for job creation," Mr Albanese told ABC Radio on Tuesday night.

"We make no apology for that, a lot of the time there's a false dichotomy given that you've got to choose the economy or the environment.

"Change can be of enormous benefit if it's got the right policy framework. And the truth is, one of the things about renewable is that it's labour intensive in terms of production and maintenance and it can create jobs in manufacturing."