The report Lethal Power: How burning coal is killing people in Australia, represents the first time the health impacts of burning coal for electricity have been assessed at a national level.

"People have died and suffered from preventable diseases needlessly for decades," report author and environmental epidemiologist, Professor Hilary Bambrick said.

"Now that the adverse health impacts of burning coal are clear, governments must come up with a plan to replace our ageing and unreliable coal burning power stations."

NSW Health confirmed on Monday that coal-fired power generation was among the state's major sources of air pollution.

"There is strong evidence that exposure to air pollution causes a range of adverse health effects, including increases in mortality, hospitalisations and emergency department presentations," a spokeswoman said. "NSW Health supports policies that reduce air pollution which can benefit health in NSW."

Epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley wrote in the report's preface that there was some evidence in Europe that there had been fewer premature babies born in 2020 on account of reduced pollution caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NSW Health spokeswoman said data for premature births in NSW was not yet available.

Professor Stanley called for greater awareness of the health impacts of Australia's coal-fired power stations.

"Australians need to know that these coal-burning power stations also emit toxic chemicals, such as mercury, arsenic and lead," she said.

"I was not aware of the level of these chemicals in pollution from coal power stations. I found these data the most scary: these three all cause brain damage in young children and teenagers whose brains are still vulnerable, particularly mercury and lead. They are known to cause intellectual disabilities and in the most severe exposures, cerebral palsy and birth defects."

AGL, which operates Bayswater and Liddell power plants in the Hunter Valley, said it believed Australia's energy future would be "affordable and smart" and delivered from renewable sources backed by flexible energy storage technologies.

"As the largest private investor in renewable energy, we're committed to taking action to responsibly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage our environmental footprint, while providing customers with secure and affordable energy," an AGL spokeswoman said.

"In our AGL Climate Statement we have outlined five key commitments in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. These commitments will be achieved by generating low-cost power using zero- emissions wind and solar resources."