CHOOSING between growth and tackling climate change is a false dilemma as the two can be achieved together, a global commission has said.

Innovative technology and new investment in cities, energy and agriculture is giving all countries opportunities for economic growth and cutting emissions, according to a report from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Implementing the measures in full could achieve up to 90 per cent of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 to avoid dangerous climate change, the study said.Implementing the measures in full could achieve up to 90 per cent of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 to avoid dangerous climate change, the study said.

An estimated £55 trillion will be invested in the world's cities, agriculture and energy over the next 15 years.

Investing the money in the right way will produce opportunities to save hundreds of billions of pounds in costs, feed more people and improve health and productivity - as well as tackling climate change, the report said.

It sets out 10 measures countries need to take, from stopping deforestation of natural forests by 2030 to tripling investment in clean energy research and development and accelerating the shift away from coal-fired power stations.

Implementing the measures in full could achieve up to 90 per cent of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 to avoid dangerous climate change, the study said.

The year-long study was conducted by leading research institutes from China, the US, Brazil, India, Europe, Korea and Africa, advised by a panel of economists chaired by Lord Stern, who wrote a key report on economics and climate in 2006.

The new study found that building better connected, more compact cities with effective public transport could save £1.9 trillion in investment costs over the next 15 years, improve economic performance and quality of life and cut emissions.

Restoring 12 per cent of the world's degraded land could feed an extra other 200 million people, raise farming incomes by £25bn a year and cut emissions from deforestation.

Over half the new electricity generation over the next 15 years is likely to be in renewables, as the costs of solar and wind power plummets, while new financial instruments could cut capital costs for clean energy by 20 per cent.

And phasing out the £370bn a year spent subsidising fossil fuels - compared to just £62bn which goes on renewable energy - will improve energy efficiency and free up funds for better ways of reducing poverty, the report said.

It also said that tripling research and development in low-carbon technologies to at least 0.1 per cent of economic output (GDP) could drive a new wave of innovation which would boost growth.

The report acknowledges that not all climate policies are win-win, as while more jobs and larger markets will be created, some jobs will be lost, particularly in high-carbon sectors, and it called for governments to manage the transition.

But it points to the benefits of switching away from polluting fossil fuels, such as improving health.

*For the latest environment news see your 4-page Eco supplement in tomorrow's Northern Echo.