German polling organisation Forsa said their research has indicated climate change and environmental issues are increasingly at the front of voters’ minds when they make important political decisions. And, they say, politicians are quickly learning how best to exploit this.

Forsa managing director Manfred Guellner said: “Climate change, if presented the right way, is a topic that voters are definitely opening up to. We’re seeing you can score points with it.”

Guellner made a particular point of saying the British Prime Minister was one of the politicians who best realised the vote-winning potential of discussing the environment. “Blair has done a good job of showing how leadership on climate change can make a difference. Climate change clearly has ‘hot button’ potential.”

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have recently made the environment a political priority, although some quarters regard this as a measure to tackle green-spouting Tory leader David Cameron rather than climate change.

Elsewhere, across the pond, Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last month won a landslide re-election after distancing himself from President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican, and championing measures to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.