Among the controversies are claims that some leading scientists exaggerated the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.

Mr Miliband told the BBC it would be "profoundly irresponsible" to use one "mistake" as an excuse not to act.

He added it did not "undermine decades of climate research" and the "majority of scientists say that".

'Devastating'

Earlier this month, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was forced to admit it had made a mistake in asserting that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.

The incident came shortly before the disclosure that the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia broke Freedom of Information rules in refusing to release research data.