Nations gather for climate talks

Representatives of 17 countries are in the UK for the Major Economies Forum with just 50 days to go until a crunch UN-sponsored summit in Copenhagen.

Mr Miliband said the talks provided a vital forum to narrow the gaps between nations and avoid a catastrophic failure to cement a fresh agreement in December.

"Today is the beginning of the end game," he said.

"With only 50 more days to go before the final talks at Copenhagen we have to up our game. Britain is determined to throw everything at this because the stakes are so high.

"We have seen countries moving towards each other: India, Japan, China and Indonesia have all made significant shifts in the past few weeks. As the deadline races towards us it becomes more important to narrow the gaps between countries as fast as we can."

Mr Miliband has previously warned that there is no Plan B if Copenhagen fails and called on rich countries to commit to binding targets to cut their emissions.

For a deal to succeed it would need mid-term targets for cuts from developed countries, for example by 2020, as part of efforts to more than halve global emissions by mid-century, as well as action from developing countries.

The new agreement also needs to finance poor countries to develop low-carbon economies and to help them cope with the impacts of global warming, he said. He also said it was crucial that world leaders were involved in drawing up a new global deal by the end of the year, with the role of heads of state including US President Barack Obama critical.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to go to Copenhagen to help secure a deal and has urged other world leaders to follow suit.