healthier, happier and richer

The lack of substantial progress at Copenhagen, though not unexpected, has left many people close to despondency on climate change. There is now a serious danger that they will lose interest. More worrying is the danger that the media will lose interest, leading to politicians doing likewise.

This has been a mixed but not particularly good week for the climate. The G20 meeting in London may have been good for the global economy – it’s far too soon to know what the effects will be – but climate change was just a footnote. This was an opportunity to inject momentum into the negotiations leading to the December Copenhagen Summit, but the palpable lack of interest from the 20 leaders has actually set the negotiations back.