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Catastrophic climate change can be averted without sacrificing living standards, according to a landmark UN report published on today.

It concludes the transformation required to a world of clean energy and the ditching of dirty fossil fuels is eminently affordable.

The authoritative report, produced by 1250 international experts and approved by 194 governments, dismisses fears that slashing carbon emissions would wreck the world economy.

Going renewable would bring negligible costs, and many benefits

It is the final part of a definitive trilogy that has already shown that climate change is
“unequivocally” caused by humans and that, unchecked, it poses a grave threat to people and could lead to lead to wars and mass migration.

Diverting hundred of billions of dollars from fossil fuels into renewable energy and cutting energy waste would shave just 0.06% off expected annual economic growth rates of 1.3%-3%, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report concluded.

Furthermore, the analysis did not include the benefits of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which could outweigh the costs.

The benefits include reducing air pollution, which plagues China and recently hit the UK, and improved energy security, which is currently at risk in eastern Europe after the actions of major gas-producer Russia in Ukraine.

The new IPCC report warns that carbon emissions have soared in the last decade and are now growing at almost double the previous rate. But its comprehensive analysis found rapid action can can still limit global warming to 2C, the internationally agreed safety limit, if low-carbon energy triples or quadruples by 2050.