The world must have a clear plan to fit power stations with facilities to capture carbon dioxide within a year to prevent "catastrophic" climate change, the world's leading scientific bodies said today.

But the warning came as Britain's support for the technology was blasted as "woefully inadequate" by experts.

The Royal Society, along with the scientific academies of the eight leading industrial nations and of five other countries including China and India, says that millions will be at risk from food and water shortages if action is not taken.

They are calling on next month's G8 summit to begin action now to halve global emissions by 2050. The scientists say this will not be achieved without the ability to capture to capture and store carbon from coal-fired power stations.

Carbon capture technology works by separating and liquefying carbon dioxide emitted by power plants. This is then stored deep underground, often in depleted coal or gas fields. Some technologies can also use the injection liquid carbon dioxide to force out more gas.

"Coal will continue to be one of the world's primary energy sources for the next 50 years. If coal burning power plants and industries continue to pump out carbon dioxide unabated we face a growing risk of triggering a dangerous and irreversible change in the climate. Techniques for carbon capture and storage must therefore be developed urgently," said Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society.

"So much is at stake that current efforts are quite inadequate. The nations at the G8 summit should commit themselves to a much expanded and coordinated programme. The sooner this technology can be proven and widely adopted, and annual carbon dioxide emissions stopped from rising, the lower the risk of catastrophic climate change."

But Britain is falling behind the pace on this technology – which could on its own cut global emissions by up to 50 per cent – because of failing government policy, according to a report for the Policy Exchange think tank.

Half of the commercial schemes planned in Britain have fallen through because the Government has refused price supports needed to make the experimental technology viable, the report claims. It recommends that carbon capture technology be given the same price guarantees as wind power.

"The industry is currently way ahead of Government. An electricity market is needed which enables this new industry to see a fair price for decarbonised electricity, take risks, grow rapidly, and build not one, but a suite of clean power plants in the UK,” said Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh and co-author of the report.

“If Government takes heed and acts now we can ensure that CCS does not become just another missed UK opportunity. The UK was first to industrialise and now can be first to decarbonise.”

The report estimates that fitting carbon capture technology to all large UK coal and gas-fired power stations would add GBP60 a year to average household bills, less than most other renewables.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that global temperatures will rise by 0.2C to 0.4C over the next 20 years and that to stabilise the climate emissions must be reduced to less than half current levels.

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