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The use of fossil fuels must be phased out by the end of the century, UN scientists have warned despite growing concerns over energy supplies.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued stark predictions that continued greenhouse gas emissions will cause 'severe, pervasive and irreversible' impacts around the world.

In its latest assessment of global warming, which was published yesterday, it urged governments to cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 70 per cent by 2050.

The use of fossil fuels must be phased out by the end of the century, UN scientists have warned. Pictured, Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire - the UK's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide

The authors said fossil fuels would need to be phased out completely from electricity production by 2100 unless new technology could safely bury carbon dioxide from power stations underground to prevent it from being released into the atmosphere.

Critics warned, however, that growing reliance upon renewable energy to replace fossil fuels will increase the risk of power blackouts in Britain.

They also said that consumers would see their energy bills soaring to pay for the new technologies outlined in the report.

The report comes at a time when Britain is already facing a growing risk of electricity blackouts as the country attempts to switch to renewable forms of energy.

Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, has also warned that Britain's current climate change targets will cause severe energy supply shortages in the future.

However, Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the IPCC, warned that the cost of delaying action to tackle climate change would be 'proportionally higher'.

He said: 'The world needs a combination of adaptation and mitigation.

'We will not be able to adapt to the impacts of climate change if we don't to anything to tackle the root of the problem. The impacts will exceed our capacity to cope with them.

'In the absence of carbon capture and storage then power generation from fossil fuels would need to be phased out by the end of this century if we want to limit temperature increases to 2C.'

The report by UN scientists urged governments to be less reliant on mining for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas (file picture)

More than two thirds of the Britain's electricity comes from fossil fuels and cutting down on coal, oil and gas use is seen as a major challenge.

Renewable energy from unreliable sources such as wind farms also need to be backed up by coal or gas fueled power stations to prevent power shortages.

Britain's reliance on wind energy has already raised concerns about its ability to keep the lights on.

Last month, energy watchdog Ofgem announced emergency plans amid fears Britain's ability to cope with peaks in power demand this winter will fall to its lowest level in seven years.

Mothballed coal and gas fired power plants are to be brought back into use and businesses are to be paid to switch off their power at peak times.

The IPCC report says that fossil fuels could continue to be used beyond 2100 in conjuction with carbon capture and storage, which traps and buries carbon dioxide gas in power station chimneys.

However, the technology yet to be tested on a large scale and is seen as being an expensive solution.

Britain's first full-scale gas carbon capture storage project, which aims to build a plant in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, is still being designed.

Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Forum think tank set up former chancellor Lord Lawson, said phasing out of fossil fuels could have a major impact on the British and European economy.

He said: 'Europe is already hurting from green policies as they are having a detrimental impact on industry and energy costs.

'There is nothing to replace the reliance on cheap fossil fuels in many parts of the world, which is why there is never going to be a realistic global agreement on cutting carbon dioxide emissions.'

Professor Richard Tol, an economist at the University of Sussex who was one of the contributors to the IPCC, said the report was 'alarmist'.

Earlier this year he withdrew his name from the final draft of the report in protest at what he believes is bias selection of the authors and evidence presented.

He said: 'It is a long way until 2100 but carbon capture storage at a scale large enough to make a serious dent in emissions strikes me a optimistic. It would require too many pipelines, too much storage.'

Critics warned that phasing out fossil fuels before the world has more reliable green energy sources would affect living standards. Pictured, North Hoyle off-shore wind farm near Rhyl, north Wales

Douglas Carswell, Ukip MP for Clacton, warned that phasing out fossil fuels before the world is ready would be disastrous.

He said: 'There is no form of energy available that is able to replace fossil fuels in terms of the energy it produces.

'The invention of machinery that can exploit fossil fuels and fertilisers based on fossil fuels are what have caused a revolution in living standards.

'Take that away and we return back to a pre-industrial revolution standard of living.'

Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, warned last month that Britain will struggle to 'keep the lights on' unless the Government changed its policy to cut carbon emissions by 2050.

At the time he said: 'The 2050 target of cutting emissions by 80 percent, requires the almost complete decarbonisation of the electricity supply in 36 years.

'In the short and medium term, costs to consumers will rise dramatically, and the lights would eventually go out.'

The new IPCC Synthesis Report is intended as a summary of three previous reports compiled over a five year period to assess the latest evidence on climate change and its impacts.

It is expected to act as a guide for government officials and policy makers as they begin intense negotiations to set new limits on carbon emissions at a UN summit in Paris next year.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, said he hoped the report would help world leaders decide how to tackle climate change when they meet in Peru for a UN climate summit next month.

He said: 'Science has spoken. There is no ambiguity in the message. Leaders must act. Time is not on our side.'

The report suggests a number of options that could help the world adapt and tackle climate change, including saying that many people will have to change their diets and grow new types of food.

It warns that methane emissions from livestock and greenhouse gas emissions from fertiliser contribute considerably to global warming.

Although it does not go into detail about what changes to diet should be, climate change experts have previously suggested eating vegetarian food, growing crops that can cope with more extreme weather and alternative sources of protein including insects.