A proposed safeguards mechanism will be the main agenda item as parliament returns for the final sitting before the budget is handed down in May.
If passed, the mechanism would apply to the 215 biggest emitters in the country and aim to reduce emissions by 205 million tonnes by 2030.
The government sees the proposal as a top priority and an important part of its climate policy.
But with the coalition opposing it, the government will need the support of the Greens and two other votes in the Senate to pass its election promise to cut carbon emissions.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said despite flaws in the proposed mechanism, his party was willing to back it in exchange for a commitment to stop opening new coal and gas projects.
A Parliamentary Library research brief on domestic coal demand and supply, commissioned by the Greens, found existing mines in Australia were "adequate" to meet coal-fired electricity demand through to 2040.
"There's enough coal and gas already in the system for the Australian economy to make the transition to renewables," Mr Bandt said.
"The new coal and gas projects supported by Labor aren't about powering our economy - they're about sending profits offshore tax-free."
Climate Minister Chris Bowen, who has ruled out the Greens' request, remained "quietly confident" the government would secure the votes needed to pass the mechanism.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said he was hopeful "common sense" would prevail in the Senate.
"We took a set of proposals to the last election, we formed the government, then bit by bit we're bringing these proposals forward," Senator Farrell told Sky News on Sunday.
"We should be optimistic that these changes will get through and we'll deal with these issues of safeguards."
Meanwhile, more than 50 environmental and climate organisations have joined forces to call on the government to listen to the scientific evidence and stop opening or expanding fossil fuel projects.
Greenpeace, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Wilderness Society, GetUp, 350 Australia, Lock the Gate, Oxfam and others say there are more than a hundred new coal and gas enterprises under development nation-wide.
"Projects scheduled to begin before 2030 alone will add a further 1.4 billion tonnes (in emissions) annually by 2030," they said in a statement issued on Monday.
"This excludes emissions from several major projects and vast new gas basins actively supported by Australian governments including the Barossa and Greater Sunrise offshore oil and gas fields, and the Beetaloo, Canning and Lake Eyre unconventional gas basins."
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