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"Climate policy means massive investment, and a massive rejigging of market forces from the current high-carbon and low-efficiency path onto a low-carbon and high-efficiency one," Mr Wagner said.

"We just spent trillions of dollars because of Covid relief. So, would it be feasible? Yes. Would it involve massive changes? Of course, that too."

The world is already spending $5.7tn a year to lower the impact of fossil fuels and use alternatives.

However, an extra $3.5tn, every year from 2021 to 2050, will need to be put towards alternative energy sources and land use including agriculture to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, it said.

That is the equivalent of half of all corporate profits in 2020. It is the equivalent of one quarter of all tax revenue, or 7% of household spending.

This money will be used on "the deployment of new physical assets and to the decarbonisation of existing assets", McKinsey said.

"It does not include spending to support other adjustments - for example, to reskill and redeploy workers, compensate for stranded assets, or account for the loss of value pools in specific parts of the economy."

The consultancy added it has accounted for the cost of keeping supply chains stable during the energy transition, as well as broad energy investment.

It said its calculation was much higher than most other estimates by economists but stressed such investments could be lucrative and the long-term costs of not doing enough to tackle climate change would be greater.

More than 130 countries have pledged net zero emissions by 2050.

While the numbers encouraging, large carbon dioxide emitters such as China and India aren't part of the group.

There are also concerns that countries may shut down their energy-intensive industries, and import these goods from other countries.

On top of current spending, the equivalent of half of all corporate profits will have to be invested to tackle global warming, it says.

McKinsey highlights that gaining acceptance will be tough, especially from those paying energy bills.

The UK government must drive down energy bills and reduce climate-warming emissions by insulating more homes, a report says.

Official advisors the Climate Change Committee says the government's current insulation programme is "shocking".

It says consumers are paying £40 extra a year on bills because of previous cuts to the home renovation programme.

A number of countries have signalled that they will burn more coal in the short term, while others are seeking to boost gas imports.

The European Union as a whole is seeking to end reliance on Russian supplies of oil and gas by 2027 but leaders acknowledge this will undoubtedly see more fossil fuel used over the next three years or so.

In his speech, Mr Guterres repeated his view that this short-term response might close the window on a key climate goal.

In the Paris climate agreement, nations agreed to try to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5C this century, compared to pre-industrial times.

National plans to reduce carbon emissions were "simply not good enough," Mr Guterres said, pointing to a disconnect between the views of scientists and citizens demanding action and governments that are "dragging their feet."

Many countries want to increase their own fossil fuel production in order to depend less on Russian supplies.

Mr Guterres says that our global energy mix is broken, and more coal will only reinforce the "scourge of war, pollution and climate catastrophe."

The UN chief says that renewable energy is the peace plan of the 21st century.

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The Renewables 2022 Global Status Report says the share of wind and solar in the global energy mix has risen minimally in the last decade.

While renewables boomed in the electricity sector last year, they didn't meet the overall rise in demand.

In transport, which accounts for a third of energy, renewables provided less than 4%.

Gas central heating will need to be replaced by alternative sources, such as heat pumps.

Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Achieving it means reducing emissions as much as possible, as well as balancing out any that remain by removing an equivalent amount.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are released when we burn oil, gas and coal for our homes, factories and transport. Methane is produced through farming and landfill. These gases cause global warming by trapping the sun's energy.

Meanwhile, rapid deforestation across the world means there are fewer trees and plants to absorb CO2.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 197 countries agreed to try to keep temperature rises "well below" 1.5C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

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Experts say that to achieve this, net zero must be reached by 2050.

Put simply, net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.

Why is net zero important?

The science shows clearly that in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

How can net zero be achieved?

Transitioning to a net-zero world is one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced. It calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about. The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change. Replacing polluting coal, gas and oil-fired power with energy from renewable sources, such as wind or solar, would dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

Is there a global effort to reach net zero?