A last minute deal?

By Linda McAvan MEP

Last night, John Prescott was in town. While a lot of us still felt gloomy, John reminded us that in Kyoto in 1997, a deal only emerged in the last few hours and that, having spoken to some old hands at the “COP” game earlier in the day, he had no doubt that it would happen again.

Well, this morning in Copenhagen, it looks like John was right. With Obama about to land, it seems that some kind of deal is on the table which involves the US pledge to provide cash (made in a surprise visit by Hilary Clinton yesterday) and China agreeing to open its emission reduction plans to some kind of international monitoring.

John Prescott’s presence was also a reminder of Labour’s long-term commitment to tackling climate change. John played a pivotal role leading the EU delegation in Kyoto. Tony Blair persuaded fellow EU leaders to sign up to more ambitious CO2 reduction targets. And our government, with Ed Miliband in the lead, has pushed through strong domestic laws as well as providing impetus for a tough EU climate package. And Gordon Brown’s role here in Copenhagen is proving crucial.

Contrast that with David Cameron – the Johnny come lately on climate change.