The letter, which was signed by ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza, urged new Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey to 'take a lead and make it mandatory for firms to disclose climate risk promptly'. Fossil fuel assets should be excluded from any future tranches of quantitative easing and the assets the bank accepts as collateral, the letter added.

Among the 101 signatories are former government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King, former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Willem Buiter and conservationist Jane Goodall.

The letter said: 'To mitigate the worst effects of the crisis and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the transition to a zero-carbon economy must be urgently accelerated. Governments bear the primary responsibility for driving this shift, via regulation, taxes, subsidies and public investment.

'Banks and insurers and the financial system as a whole face catastrophic consequences if they fail to adapt. If warming is left unchecked, extreme weather events will cause devastating losses.'