Other demands include government commitments on affordable housing and sustaining balanced and vibrant communities and a review of the planning system to increase the availability of land for homes.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Poverty 'blights 1m rural homes'

The chancellor is reluctant to disclose this additional cost in the public finances, not least since they are scheduled to deteriorate quite sharply anyway, because of the government's numerous other spending commitments.

ECONOMIST: Labour and the unions

Although Ms Short and other government delegates were unimpressed by the final Johannesburg text and its separate political declaration, they point to a few specific commitments and a useful emphasis on fighting poverty rather than on conservation.

ECONOMIST: So what was achieved by ten days of talking?