Only a handful of Conservative MPs attended the first climate change debate in two years in the Commons, in the week that saw the UK experience its two hottest ever winter days.

As the debate on the UK's progress towards a zero carbon emissions future began on Thursday afternoon, a number of MPs from both sides of the aisle were seen leaving the chamber.

Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who secured the debate, said she did so after being inspired by the thousands of schoolchildren who went on strike last month over the world's failure to adequately tackle the emergency.

Despite the issue being hailed “incredibly important” by energy minister Claire Perry, at times there were as few as 10 Tory MPs sat on the government benches.

The apparent indifference among MPs came just days after Theresa May accused protesting children of wasting lesson time and increasing teachers’ workloads.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke – filled with the carbon that is driving climate change – drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. “Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals,” says the photographer. “Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow.” Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a “public health emergency”. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton, called on Parliament to adopt measures similar to America's proposed Green New Deal, noting the record-high temperatures being set both in the UK and across the world, including Australia.

“To be clear, this is not normal. We are not in a time of normal. The implications of these seismic changes for the future of life on Earth and human civilisation are profound,” she said.

Chair of the environmental audit committee, Labour MP Mary Creagh, said the UK needed to reduce its emissions to net zero “rapidly and at scale in every area of our economy and in every area of our lives”.

“Securing a sustainable future for the planet and our children is a responsibility that we simply cannot ignore.

“I welcome the chance to discuss this issue, because we have spent far too long discussing Brexit in the Chamber and not enough time discussing the thumping alarm that is being sounded all around us on our planet.”

Students take to streets of Brighton to protest climate change

The debate comes just months after the United Nations warned the planet has just 11 years to cut carbon emissions in half in order to avert environmental catastrophe.