He accused the Global Climate Coalition which includes companies such as Texaco and Exxon, of putting their own interests before the planet by spreading disinformation and peddling dubious science that says global warming is a myth.

Mr Meacher was speaking at a meeting on climate change organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Later this month global warming will be high on the agenda at the G8 and United Nation s special general assembly.

He said that climate change posed threats that "we cannot be allowed to ignore". Britain would press the United States the worlds biggest polluter, whose attempts to reduce emissions have failed, to show more commitment.

Mr Meacher said that the companies in the coalition faced becoming the industrial dinosaurs of the 21st century.

In the long term those companies may find that they will miss out on the commercial opportunities that will arise from new technologies and other developments.

He contrasted the attitude of many oil and coal companies with that of BP, whose group chief executive, John Browne, recently accepted that action to curb global warming was prudent. BP, which last year, withdrew from the coalition, has also announced plans to boost its production of solar power.