A report by a social welfare group says renewable energy is an easier, quicker and cheaper method of lifting people out of poverty than fossil-fuel power.

Oxfam Australia’s Powering Up Against Poverty report is intended to challenge mining industry spin about coal as the key to ending poverty.

Oxfam says the reality is that coal is not helpful as a power source for those who live without electricity.

The report says over one billion people around the world do not have power, and 84 per cent of those live in rural areas. It argues that the cost of extending electricity grids to those rural areas would remove any economic benefit of coal power, whereas renewable energy is quicker to install for small-scale, local systems.

“There are many examples of how local renewable energy is improving energy access, providing jobs and bringing new prosperity and providing the foundations for development,” report author Simon Bradshaw said.

Dr Bradshaw - Oxfam Australia's climate change policy adviser - says ambitious solar energy commitments in developing nations like India are driven both by making power more accessible and the need to avoid emissions.

On the other end of the argument, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott last year declared coal “good for humanity”, as he believes it will be the world's main energy source for decades.

The Oxfam report was specifically critical of the Prime Minister's stance, saying; “(The coal industry) has found a loyal champion in the Australian government.”

Oxfam says that on top of the increased climate variability coming as a result of man-made carbon emissions, coal mines kill thousands per year by way of air pollution and industrial mishaps.

The report is accessible in PDF form, here.