A High Court judge has refused to allow a dispute, that consent for coal mines take climate change into account, be heard by a higher court.

Buller Coal and Solid Energy are seeking consents to mine separate areas on the West Coast, but Forest & Bird has appealed the consents to the Environment Court.

Forest & Bird argues consent commissioners had not considered the effects of climate change when granting consent.

All three parties wanted the issue to be heard by the Court of Appeal, but in a decision released on Tuesday, High Court judge Christine French refused that request, saying it would "set an unfortunate precedent".

The power to bypass the High Court should only be used sparingly and only for exceptional cases, she said.