Minister slammed for long-haul flight to climate change meeting

The Green Party accused him of "actively contributing" to aviation emissions and suggested he could have conducted meetings via videolink instead.

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Mr Miliband, the fourth Cabinet minister to visit the sub-continent in the last three months, addressed the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on Monday.

Travelling with five aides, he has also been holding meetings with Indian ministers about the country's carbon footprint.

The trip follows criticism of the Prince of Wales by green campaigners for flying to the US to collect an award for promoting green issues.

Mr Miliband joked about whether the award was "particularly heavy" after it emerged that Charles was taking a 20-strong entourage with him.

Later in the same interview, Mr Miliband observed that there were alternatives to air travel.

"I think a lot of business can be done by telephone and videolink these days," he said in a newspaper interview.

The Green Party's principal speaker, Sian Berry, said today: "I think it is a bit rich that Miliband wants to go and teach India about sustainability, when there is so much to be done to put our own house in order.

"But this comes as no surprise from an Environment Secretary who has defended his Government's disastrous plans to double air passenger numbers in the UK to 456 million a year by 2020.

"Reducing aviation emissions should be our Environment Secretary's priority, rather than actively contributing to them with trips like these.

"Why can't he take his own advice and use a videolink?"

Friends of the Earth executive director Tony Juniper said: "David Miliband is right to highlight the need for urgent international action to tackle climate change. But the British Government must also show leadership by example too.

"UK carbon dioxide emissions have risen under Labour, despite repeated promises of substantial cuts."

Mr Miliband flew out to India on Sunday and will return to the UK via the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this week.

India has also been paid recent visits by Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, in November, and Chancellor Gordon Brown and Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling, earlier this month.

An aide to Mr Miliband stressed that he was not telling anybody to stop flying and certainly not to high-level meetings such as those he is attending in India, adding that all his flights are offset for carbon.