9 December 2011 Last updated at 05:06 ET
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News, Durban 
Mr Huhne's comments were a call to arms for nations that had so far been "reluctant to join in" UN climate talks are reaching a "crunch point", says the UK Climate Secretary.On the final morning of talks in Durban, Chris Huhne said countries must decide whether they want a treaty that can really curb global warming.
The EU has made an ad-hoc alliance with some of the world's poorest nations to push for a strong deal here.
Overnight talks appear to have made little concrete progress, with big emitting countries sticking out for a new deal that would bite after 2020.
That is too late for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), who both say talks must begin in January and conclude at the end of next year.
No big new treaty is going to be agreed at this meeting. What the LDCs, Aosis and the EU are seeking is a firm timetable - a mandate - leading to a new treaty.
In informal overnight discussions, ministers from the powerful BASIC group - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - held the line that talks should not begin before 2015, and should only take effect when current pledges on reducing emissions expire in 2020, sources said.
"We're reaching the point at which a number of delegations have got to decide whether they want to get a treaty with real environmental integrity or not," said Mr Huhne.
"There's now a very visible high-ambition coalition that stretches across the developed world, in Europe, and the developing countries, and the real issue is whether those that have been reluctant to join in with high ambition are prepared to do so."
On Thursday, Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixiera told BBC News she was flexible on some elements of the proposed mandate.
The US - which has been widely accused of blocking tactics - also said it supported the EU concept of a "roadmap", but gave few extra details.
Continue reading the main story Action that helps cope with the effects of climate change - for example construction of barriers to protect against rising sea levels, or conversion to crops capable of surviving high temperatures and drought.Aosis ministers had already questioned the validity of that statement - and in somewhat acerbic mood, Mr Huhne commented: "One of the key things is to look in detail about what people are prepared to do on the page as opposed to what they're prepared to say to the television cameras."There has been little word from inside the Chinese or Indian camps as to how they currently see the negotiations.
Connie Hedegaard, the EU Climate Commissioner, suggested that of the four BASIC countries, Brazil and South Africa were showing much more flexibility than the Indians or Chinese.
"We have the half the BASIC group - we are now waiting for the other half," she said.
In what may be a reflection of that, campaigners have even developed a new acronym for the three-nation bloc they believe now stands in the way of a strong agreement - USIC.
The remaining obstacles in the negotiations are serious, but several observers described the mood as constructive.
Few are willing to bet on an outcome, apart from on the point that talks will continue long into Saturday morning.
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