Former Conservative leader Michael Howard has said the UK’s success at growing the economy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions shows climate sceptic “doom-mongers” were wrong to claim that dealing with global warming would damage the economy.

A report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) cited official figures showing the UK’s emissions fell by 33 per cent between 1992 and 2014, while the gross domestic product (GDP) per head of population grew by a startling 130 per cent.

This means Britain has been the most successful of the G7 nations in achieving growth while reducing carbon footprint.

The former Tory party leader, now Lord Howard of Lympne, said the report should encourage political leaders to cut emissions based on scientists’ recommendations.

“Before we signed the United Nations Climate Convention 25 years ago, Sir John Major and I were firmly of the view that reducing Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions would not harm our economy. This analysis shows that we were right and the doom-mongers wrong,” he said.

“The consequences of unconstrained climate change are now becoming ever clearer, and on a global basis, emissions are not falling quickly enough to avert the risks ahead.”

The ECIU report was released to mark the launch of the Mission 2020 project, which is designed to make that year the historic turning point when global emissions – static over the past three years – finally begin to fall.

“Bending the curve of emissions by 2020 is the only way to limit global warming … and will pave the way to delivering a just transition to net zero emissions by 2050,” the Mission 2020 project’s website says.

Lord Howard, who was Environment Secretary in 1992, added that he wished Christiana Figueres, the former executive secretary of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change who is running the 2020 project, and others involved well “as they aim, essentially, to finish the job that we began in Rio de Janeiro 25 years ago”.

Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said the argument that dealing with global warming was too expensive had been disproved by the UK’s success.

“It’s really time to slay once and for all the old canard that cutting carbon emissions means economic harm,” he said.

“As this report shows, if you have consistent policymaking and cross-party consensus, it’s perfectly possible to get richer and cleaner at the same time.

“Britain isn’t the only country that’s done it – it’s true for most of the G7 – but we’ve clearly been the best of the bunch.

“There are signs that these successes are now transferring to the rest of the world. Globally, emissions have been flat for three years while world GDP has grown by eight per cent.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke – filled with the carbon that is driving climate change – drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. “Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals,” says the photographer. “Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow.” Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a “public health emergency”. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

“But science indicates this isn’t enough to fulfil the objective of the UN Convention and prevent ‘dangerous’ climate change – for that, emissions need to start falling soon. This study should give confidence that with good policies, it’s achievable.”

The switch from coal to gas as a fuel to generate electricity, energy efficiency schemes and a shift to a more service-based economy were some of the main factors behind the decline in UK emissions, the ECIU report found.

There have been claims that British emissions have simply been ‘exported’ to other countries like China, which manufacture goods for the UK market.

But the report found, on a per-capita basis, ‘imported’ emissions were now about the same as in 1997, the first year for which the government produces data. Since then, per-capita GDP has more than doubled.

Professor John Barrett of Leeds University, an expert on this issue, said: “While the UK’s imported emissions rose steadily during the 2000s, they are no longer doing so.

“On a per-capita basis, the carbon footprint of goods and services imported into the UK has reduced since the financial crisis.

“This is primarily due to two factors; firstly, suppressed demand for products due to the slow economic recovery, and secondly, domestic action on reducing emissions, particularly related to the significant reduction in coal for electricity generation.

“However, the UK’s imported emissions remain very high in comparison to other developed countries and there is further action that could be taken including low carbon technology transfer and the more sustainable use of imported materials and products.

“This will help to ensure that the UK’s imported emissions do not rise in the future with economic growth.”

Sam Hall, senior researcher at Conservative think tank Bright Blue, said: “Today’s report is a further demonstration that climate change mitigation is compatible with strong economic growth.

“Through cost-effective measures such as improving the energy efficiency of the buildings and reducing coal consumption, the UK has successfully cut carbon while increasing its prosperity.