The summit, which is being held in Durban, South Africa, was due to finish on Friday but dragged on late into Saturday evening as exhausted representatives from 192 countries struggled to find a compromise.

Delegates were warned last night that the talks could extend into Sunday, but some ministers have already left without any sign of a deal being agreed.

Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary, has spearheaded the European Union’s push for a new international deal that will commit all nations to cutting carbon emissions for the first time and cost British taxpayers billions of pounds.

After two weeks of haggling, Mr Huhne announced on Saturday that the talks had taken an unexpected leap forward when the world’s biggest emitter, the US, agreed to sign up to an agreement.

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