WE may have struggled through a recent cold snap, but spare a thought for Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, who has spent eight days in temperatures of minus 29 degrees.

He is one of a group of MPs trekking 300km with huskies across the Arctic Circle, raising money for charity as well as awareness about the threats of climate change.

"It's been an incredible experience," said Tobias. "Building igloos, fishing for supper through frozen rivers - and we've raised over £100,000 for charity."

Having trekked across Finland, Sweden and Norway, the team flew back into Britain yesterday.

"The Arctic is effectively the planet's freezer, but the hole Mankind has created in the ozone layer equates to leaving the freezer door open.

"The threat to the very snow we have been walking across is the reason why Bournemouth must now consider raising its sea defences by a metre."

The trip coincides with an informal meeting of world leaders in Washington this week, who reached a new agreement on targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Attended by legislators from the Group of Eight rich nations, plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, the meeting called for a global market to cap and trade carbon dioxide emissions.

The agreement holds no formal weight, but is seen as representing a significant change in attitudes which could start the ball rolling on a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

The forum's closing statement declared that man-made climate change was now "beyond doubt".

Speaking from the Arctic Circle, Mr Ellwood said: "It is welcome news to hear that a successor to the Kyoto Protocol is being debated in Washington.

"However, unless those words are turned into actions - particularly with respect to China, India and the USA - climate change here in the Arctic, and subsequently elsewhere, will gather pace."