Caroline will today question the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in Parliament about the outcome of the Durban climate change summit.

Commenting on the deal done at the COP17 climate negotiations yesterday, the Brighton Pavilion MP said:

"Politically, the COP17 talks have offered some hope in the form of a roadmap towards a new treaty to succeed Kyoto, which comes to an end next year.

"That this agreement to cut emissions will have legal force and is to include the big polluter, the United States - as well as the fast growing economies such as China, India and Brazil - is extremely encouraging.

"But sadly, it says a lot about people's faith in the negotiations process that, after so many climate talks and empty pledges over the years, an agreement ‘in principle' to tackling climate change without much substance can still be hailed as an overall success.

"Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne has said that the Durban negotiations saw the major Co₂ emitters ‘commit to take the action demanded by the science'.

"Unfortunately, this is not the case.

"While the agreement to start further negotiations on a binding treaty is a positive step in the right direction, the level of ambition is still way too low if we are serious about limiting global warming to less than the tipping point of 2^oC.

"So as it stands, this deal will certainly prove insufficient to protect people and planet from dangerous climate change.

"It is of particular concern that the summit only agreed an administrative framework for the Green Climate Fund to help the global south adapt to, and mitigate against, climate change - and not any detail as to how the money would actually be raised."

Caroline continued:

"I have pressed the UK Government on the need for sufficient long-term funding for the Green Climate Fund, for example, through an international tax on transport fuels - something which Huhne said he was ‘particularly keen' on when I quizzed him in Parliament recently.

"The challenge now will be to ensure that the pending agreement which will now be negotiated is strong enough, and is implemented quickly enough in order to prevent catastrophic climate change.

"We must ensure that our Government plays its part in securing this agreement."

ENDS