Inquiry into coal power station closures

Federal Labor and the Greens will establish a parliamentary inquiry into retiring the nation's coal fired power stations.

Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler said the Senate inquiry would look into phasing out ageing stations, the case for planned closures and how to support workers.

"The government prefers to bury its head in the sand and pretend we can rely on dirty coal to power our prosperity rather than plan for inevitable closures," he said in a statement on Tuesday.