A group of Parliament members, the "Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee," has officially endorsed the idea of appointing a minister for Climate Change, according to UK news site ePolitix. The committee expressed frustration with the lack of direction to the government's climate-related efforts, and warned the government not to "water down" its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. UK weather blog Rising Slowly seeks clarification: So, a department that publicly declares its own lack of clout asks the powers that be to grant it a minister to it can, err, have more clout?
A Climate Change Minister may not be in the cards immediately, but the idea will likely live on; I would expect to see Climate Ministers (or Secretaries) in many governments in the not-too-distant future.