Amber Rudd: Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and key speaker at COP21

The Conservative MP is one of 12 ministers at the centre of the Paris climate change talks

(PA)

Stepping out from the shadow of her Cabinet colleagues?

Amber Rudd hasn’t enjoyed a great deal of airtime since she was appointed Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change following this year’s General Election – but the rather pressing matter of our rapidly warming planet has given her an opportunity to shine.

What’s on the agenda?

Ms Rudd will be guaranteed exposure over the next few days as a key speaker at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. The Conservative MP for the East Sussex constituency of Hastings and Rye is one of 12 ministers at the centre of the talks. Delegates aim to reach a legally binding and universal agreement on climate at the summit, which is due to wrap up on 11 November.

There’s quite a bit riding on this conference, then…

Just the future of planet Earth and all its inhabitants. Discussions have been broken into six broad areas, each of which is being led by a minister from a developed country and another from a developing nation. Ms Rudd is working with Pa Ousman Jarju, of Gambia. They are responsible for the section of the talks dealing with immediate actions to tackle global warming between now and 2020.

How will the UK help combat global warming?

Last month Ms Rudd announced all coal-fired power plants in the UK would be closed down by 2025. Climate campaigners welcomed the measure – but were less impressed with Ms Rudd’s plans to introduce new gas and nuclear plants rather than cleaner alternatives.

What role will she play in the climate talks?

Ms Rudd will be involved in a frantic period of “shuttle diplomacy”, attending meetings and acting as a go-between, finding out what each country wants, what they are prepared to compromise on and what they can offer until hopefully a compromise can be found between the competing needs of 192 nations.

Has she got what it takes to avert global disaster?

That remains to be seen. Craig Bennett, CEO of Friends of the Earth, has accused Ms Rudd’s party of “grotesque hypocrisy” in claiming to want to address climate change while "dismantling an architecture of low-carbon policies carefully put together with cross-party agreement over the course of two parliaments".