Mr Cameron visited a coal mine on his trip to China

Countries that led the industrial revolution should lead the fight against climate change, he said.

But not one carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot scheme was being run in Britain, the Tory leader said.

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said the government was spending millions on CCS projects abroad.

Depleted oil fields

Mr Cameron, who is on a trip to China with shadow chancellor George Osborne, said all coal-powered stations should be fitted with CCS facilities - which contain carbon dioxide given off by power stations and store it in natural reservoirs beneath the earth.

Mr Cameron said geological formations, like the depleted gas and oil fields beneath the North Sea, could hold unwanted carbon for centuries.

Even though in the UK we have the depleted oil and gas fields that are ideal for testing this technology, not a single pilot is yet taking place in Britain David Cameron

But in a speech at Chongqing University he said: "Right now, at least a dozen CCS pilots are ready to launch around the world and the UK is supporting the EU-China Near Zero Emission coal project.

"But even though in the UK we have the depleted oil and gas fields that are ideal for testing this technology, not a single pilot is yet taking place in Britain.

"We cannot afford this kind of delay."

Aid for Mugabe

He also pledged to work with China to help its power stations become more environmentally friendly - but in return he said China had to be more open about the scale of its emissions.

And he urged China to end direct aid to Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe and to work for stability in Sudan, which provides China with oil, as well as putting pressure on Burma and North Korea.

Instead of showing himself up on the international stage, David Cameron should spend his time addressing the lack of support for green energy in the Tory party Malcolm Wicks Energy minister

He also urged the government in Beijing to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - saying it was no secret Britain and China had "differences of opinion" on issues like the death penalty, freedom of the media and of religion.

"We make these arguments not because we think we are the moral majority, that somehow we think we have a monopoly on civilised principles," he said.

"But instead, because our experience has taught us that, in the long term, progress - whether economic, social or environmental - is underpinned by the rule of law, good governance, pluralism and freedom."

But Mr Wicks said Mr Cameron had demonstrated a "lack of knowledge" about what the government was doing to develop clean coal.

He said the government was part-funding a project in China testing CCS technology - committing �3.5m - and was looking at options for similar projects in India.

"Alongside this we have launched our very own UK competition to construct within seven years one of the world's first commercial-scale coal-fired carbon capture and storage projects, safely storing up to 90% of CO2 emissions," Mr Wicks said.