Research by The Australia Institute has found The powerful Minerals Council of Australia, the nation's peak pro-mining industry group, disproportionately advocates for coal miners, which represent just a fraction of its membership base.

The Australia Institute, a Canberra-based think tank that opposes the introduction of new coal mines, has found members of the council overwhelmingly have no, very little, or a declining interest in mining coal.

Only 16 out of the Council's 45-strong membership have any exposure to coal mining and, of those, only three are entirely focused on thermal coal - Centennial Coal, New Hope Coal, and Adani Mining.

The report looked at public comments by The Minerals Council in newspaper articles and found they were far more likely to mention coal than any other mineral. The next most mentioned mineral was iron ore.

"Context is important here. Iron ore is Australia's largest export and the main focus of the MCA's two biggest members, BHP and Rio Tinto. Yet the MCA pushes coal day-in, day-out," director of research Rod Campbell said.

"The MCA's coal obsession represents poor value for those fee-paying members who mine other minerals."

Producers of thermal coal, mainly used for power generation, stood to lose if the government adopted a clean energy target - a key recommendation of the Finkel Review of energy security by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, released in June.

But on Tuesday the government scrapped the proposed clean energy target, favouring an approach that focuses on dispatchable power while also encouraging energy companies to buy enough renewable energy to meet Australia's international clean-energy commitments.

The Institute's report also found two of the council's biggest backers - Rio Tinto and BHP - derive only about 6 per cent of their revenue from thermal coal and have both indicated they are reducing their exposure to the mineral.

A spokesman for the Minerals Council said coal was one of a number of issues the body advocated on.

"The MCA's advocacy focuses on a range of issues that are important for the mining sector, including economic policy, taxation, energy and climate, workplace relations, environmental standards, Indigenous affairs, trade and investment, infrastructure, regional development and community relations," he said.

"We will continue to advocate for the growth and sustainability of our world-class mining industry, including coal mining."

The report comes amid increased tensions between The Minerals Council's and its largest member, BHP. The Australian miner is set to debate a motion calling for a review of its membership until "inconsistencies between our company's policies and the MCA's lobbying positions are clear".

In August BHP said it needed to be more open when "we hold materially different positions to those expressed by industry associations, including the MCA".