Tens of billions of dollars will have to be pumped from the world's richest countries and big industrial polluters into tackling climate change, says a government-commissioned review that warns of an impending catastrophe.

The report by Sir Nicholas Stern, former World Bank chief economist and a senior British civil servant, proposes a massive expansion of fledgling markets in trade-able greenhouse gas permits to cut carbon dioxide emissions and promote spending by poorer countries on cleaner fuels and energy.