David Miliband was interviewed for the First News paper

Mr Miliband said changes would not be for the worse - but would respect the environment rather than abuse it.

The government should consider harnessing tidal power, and investing in technology to make zero-carbon cars cheaper and more accessible, he said.

He was speaking to children aged nine to 12 for the First News newspaper.

"Every part of the way we work, go to school, the way we live is going to have to change.

"Not change for the worse, but change so that we live in a way that respects the environment rather than abuses it."

Support for developing countries

He also told the young journalists that the government would support developing countries as they too turned to green alternatives.

"They're worried that any decisions they'll make about the environment will compromise their ability to tackle poverty among their population.

"We have to show there will be money to follow going green and that's a really important part of the plan," Mr Miliband said.

Asked why "grown-ups messed up the world so much for us kids", Mr Miliband said "I think cos (sic) they've been short-sighted."

Tidal power

Regarding tidal power, Mr Miliband said it could provide the country's power needs.

"At the moment solar is really only good for heating your water, not good for powering the electricity in your house. Wind is better for that.

"But we also have to look at things like tidal power. We're an island so we have tides all around us and unlike the sun or wind the tides are always there, 365 days a year, twice a day, the tide is there so we need to look at all those options."

A government-backed report from economist Sir Nicholas Stern, published in October 2006, suggested that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%.

However, taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study said.

Two months later Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his pre-Budget report that fuel duty would rise and air passenger duty would increase from �5 to �10 for most flights - moves criticised by green groups as being too little to seriously help climate change.