MEXICO: Britain has told the world's worst polluting nations that acting now to cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases would be vastly cheaper in the long run than doing nothing.
British government scientist and former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern told a meeting in northern Mexico on Tuesday that it made economic as well as environmental sense to pursue green energy sources.
A long-awaited study by Mr Stern on the economic effects of combating global warming is due in the coming days.
"He shows that the longer action is delayed, the more expensive it is," British environment secretary David Miliband said.
"What he says is that . . . it is imperative we take action to prevent further climate change because the economic costs - never mind the human costs and the costs to the environment - will far outweigh the costs of mitigation."
The closed-door meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, of energy and environment ministers from the world's 20 top greenhouse gas-emitting nations, including the US, is aimed at continuing dialogue on climate change and comes amid a shift in scientific thinking.
Most experts are now convinced global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels, rather than a natural cyclical phenomenon.
Last year was the warmest year at the Earth's surface since records began in the 1860s, according to Nasa, and new estimates suggest temperatures could rise by 3 degrees this century, triggering floods, droughts and famine.