In an article to be published in the British press, two cabinet ministers outlined their view ahead of a meeting on March 15-16 in London of energy and finance ministers from the G8 group of leading industrial countries.

"It is important that the G8 accepts the urgency of the problem and the need to take action," wrote Environment Minister Margaret Beckett and Trade and Industry Minister Patricia Hewitt.

"As the world's economy grows, energy demand will undoubtedly increase," their article said.

"In 2002, generation of energy and heat accounted for 40 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. Although energy from renewables is growing rapidly we must accept that fossil fuels will continue to generate the majority of the world's energy for the foreseeable future," it said.

"But we can make fossil fuels cleaner, encourage the development and deployment of renewable energy and increase the efficiency of energy production and end use," the article said.

"Many of these technologies exist already and can be implemented at a much lower cost than imagined," it said.

Many have argued these measures make economic sense. Swiss Re, the world's second largest re-insurer, has estimated that the economic costs of global warming could double to 150 billion US dollars each year in the next decade.

Britain has made tackling climate change one of its priorities as it chairs this year the presidency of the Group of Eight, comprised of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Russia.

Britain has also announced it as a priority of its presidency later this year of the European Union.

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