ECONOMISTS urged the government today to increase public spending in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss to 1 per cent of gross domestic product.

Professor Nicholas Stern and experts from the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge said that a £26 billion investment would boost growth and productivity, as they warned against the government’s plans to slash public investment.

The researchers also reported that unsustainable investments such as the development of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and the construction of buildings that are not energy-efficient will likely damage the economy.

“This risks creating stranded assets, significant financial losses in polluting and emissions-intensive sectors, and an insecure, unaffordable and unsustainable energy supply,” the experts report.

“It will also mean that the UK fails to adequately tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, including water and air pollution.”

A government spokesperson said it was “focused on long-term decisions to strengthen our economy” and that it “expected to attract a further £100 billion investment in green industries of the future.”