Huhne's plea over climate talks

Countries are being urged to redouble their efforts to secure progress towards a new international deal on global warming as the latest round of UN climate talks enter the endgame.

Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has warned the talks in Cancun, Mexico, are on a knife-edge between a good outcome and a “car crash”.

The summit is the latest attempt to make progress towards a new global deal on tackling climate change, and come after last year’s meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, failed amid chaotic scenes to secure a new legally-binding treaty on cutting emissions.

It had been expected that the Cancun talks would concentrate on issues where progress could be made, including providing finance for poor countries to cope with climate change and tackling deforestation.

But – as in Copenhagen – progress is being held up by the major stumbling block of what is to be done about the existing climate treaty, the Kyoto protocol, and how major emitters such as the US and China should be included in a future deal.

Developing countries do not want to see Kyoto abandoned, as it legally commits rich nations to emissions cuts, but it does not include major emitters such as the US and China, leaving other countries keen to see them involved in a similarly binding deal.

While there was a good chance of making real progress on other areas it would be hard to achieve agreement without overcoming the key obstacles, Mr Huhne said.

Failure to make progress would further undermine the UN negotiating process on climate, which was badly damaged by what happened in Copenhagen.

Mr Huhne has been co-chairing meetings on the key issue of Kyoto and the parallel deal to include countries which are not part of the existing treaty.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker is returning to the talks for their final day today, following his return to the UK to vote on tuition fee rises, and is expected to go straight into back-to-back meetings with other ministers in a bid to break the deadlock.