The UK government has said it is “disappointed” the Copenhagen climate talks did not achieve legal commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said there had been “significant progress” towards a treaty and that attitudes were shifting. However, nations had to “go much further”, he told MPs.

Last December’s talks failed to end in a legally binding agreement by the 193 member states of the United Nations.

However, key states, including the US and China, reached what they call a “meaningful agreement” on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit global temperature rises to less than 2C.

Mr Miliband praised this, saying the support given for eventual payments of $100bn a year to help developing countries become greener would help. He told MPs: “The outcome of Copenhagen was disappointing in a number of respects.

“We are disappointed that Copenhagen did not establish a clear timetable for a legal treaty and that we do not yet have the commitments to cuts in emissions that we were looking for.”

But he said the accord between 49 developed and developing countries, endorsing the limit of two degrees warming as the benchmark for progress on climate change, could be built upon.  news.bbc.co.uk