Australians should keep an open mind to alternatives like nuclear power, given how large the task is to cut carbon emissions, Energy Minister Chris Bowen's hand-picked climate adviser has said.

Former state Liberal MP Matt Kean's report also included a stark warning that Australia must massively cut emissions in the next decade to escape the most severe global warming scenarios.

In a major report that warns the nation's progress in cutting pollution is still too slow, the Climate Change Authority on Thursday recommended a series of actions for the government, including a mass public "information and engagement campaign" to combat misinformation about the rollout of renewables and the net zero by 2050 target.

The agency did not model using nuclear to reach net zero because the technology is currently illegal, but said reactors could be an option to "make a material contribution to decarbonisation".

"For example, a future dramatic cost reduction in new-build nuclear plants would necessitate a re-evaluation of this technology for deployment in Australia," the authority said.

Nuclear an option, but timeline makes it too hard to replace coal

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud have committed Australia to developing a large domestic nuclear power industry, triggering a backlash led by Mr Bowen, who says the technology is too expensive and too late given the looming closure of legacy coal power.

While it urges an open mind on the technology, the authority's report also supports Mr Bowen's view that Australia's lack of experience in building and managing nuclear power stations would likely lead to a higher cost for initial plants.

In addition, an estimated 15-year to 20-year lead time before plants begin generating power "suggests this technology cannot make a timely contribution to replacing the generation capacity of retiring coal-fired power stations or to helping Australia achieve its carbon budget targets to 2050".

The report, which was delivered to Mr Bowen last month, will be tabled in parliament and sets the stage for a new political battle over climate targets in the lead-up to the next election.

Mr Kean, the former NSW Liberal treasurer and climate change minister, was appointed by the federal government in June to head the authority, replacing former gas industry chief Grant King.

Australia must update carbon targets for Paris Agreement next year

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not committed to announcing Australia's next Paris Agreement target for 2035 ahead of the next election, even as the government works on a series of detailed "sectoral" plans.

The 2030 target to reduce emissions by 43 per from 2005 levels, will need to be updated for 2035 next year.

Australia would need to cut its emissions by 75 per cent in 2035 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, according to CSIRO modelling commissioned by the authority.

In a world where temperatures are allowed to increase 2 degrees, Australia's 2035 target would be a 57 per cent reduction.

At the same time, the Coalition has pushed back its pledges to release detailed modelling and costings of its own net zero plan, which is based on the adoption of large-scale and smaller "modular" nuclear reactors on sites that previously hosted coal-fired power stations.

The Coalition previously indicated that it would release its modelling during the last parliamentary winter break.

However, Shadow Energy and Climate Change Minister Ted O'Brien confirmed to the ABC that the Opposition's policies would not be made public until before Christmas.

Call to broaden scheme enforcing emissions cuts on biggest polluters

The Climate Change Authority report urges the government to consider expanding the recently reformed heavy industrial, manufacturing and resources emissions reduction policy known as the Safeguard Mechanism, as well as greater use of carbon credit trading.

It says Labor should also legislate its "capacity investment scheme", a large government scheme that has not been publicly costed to underwrite more than $60 billion in energy grid investments including big batteries.

And the agency wants a national carbon market strategy that ensures carbon offsets channel capital towards carbon "removal technologies".

In a move that will inflame political tensions with the Coalition, which is campaigning hard in regional and rural areas against the planned construction of up to 20,000 kilometres of new power lines, the authority called for a campaign to "combat mis- and dis-information, and build climate literacy and understanding of the net zero plan".

"We need to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure Australia's rapid and orderly transition as the world transforms to avert the worst impacts of climate change," Mr Kean said in a press release.

"This requires a major reorganisation of supply chains, production systems, industrial zones, energy sources, public and private finance, infrastructure and workforces."