Greg Combet has lent his expertise in creating carbon markets to a grateful world.

I know that many prefer watercolours, but Greg's keen on the black and white options that carbon delivers.

There's just shades of grey for Greg, who dropped in on Paris, Brussells and Berlin ably supported by the ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips.

Here are some of the climate change conferences available in beautiful Western Europe for ministers of the crown to choose from in justifying their Continental jaunts.

And here's how the Daily Telegraph saw Greg and Juanita's first class contribution to a better understanding of floggin' carbon.

CLIMATE Change Minister Greg Combet took his ABC newsreader partner Juanita Phillips on a first-class visit to Europe, amid signs of an increase in global travel by Gillard Government frontbenchers.

The taxpayer-funded trip earlier this month included visits to Paris, Brussels and Berlin where Mr Combet - touted as a future Labor leader - delivered a keynote address to the "Towards a Global Carbon Market" conference.

Mr Combet said the trip met ministerial rules for travelling with spouses. These require the minister's partner to have an "official program of engagements".

He declined to confirm to News Limited what program Ms Phillips - who presents the ABC's flagship 7pm television news service in Sydney - undertook.

The minister also would not disclose why they flew first class.

The guidelines state "ministers and their spouses should travel business class" when travelling overseas, but they may have received a free upgrade.

A first-class airfare to Paris costs between $12,000-15,000 and the carbon footprint - around 5 tonnes of CO2 - is enough to power a small car for a year.

"Approval for Minister Combet's and Ms Phillips's overseas visit on official business was in accord with the guidelines relating to such visits," his spokesman said. "Any suggestion to the contrary would be wrong and misleading."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is required to tick off on all overseas travel by her front bench. Asked about Mr Combet and Ms Phillips' trip, a spokesman said: "All overseas ministerial travel is approved in accordance with the guidelines."