Climate change talks 'in danger'

Talks to address the problem of climate change could be in trouble, David Miliband has said.

The foreign secretary commented that climate change talks later this year in Copenhagen are in the balance.

He said that suspicion between some nations and problems linked to the economic downturn could affect the discussions.

Mr Miliband warned: "There is a real danger that the talks scheduled for December will not reach a positive outcome."

He added that there is also a risk of people failing to "wake up to the danger of failure until it is too late"

Do as I say…

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The suspicion to which Mr Miliband refers may result from a perception that some nations are doing more in their efforts to tackle climate change than others.”

The British government has ruled out immediate tax rises for airline passengers despite calls for radical cuts in aviation industry emissions.

The transport secretary, Lord Adonis, said increases in air passenger duty (APD) would cover British aviation’s contribution to global warming and has defended the government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow.