Friday saw the latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change. The evidence and overwhelming scientific opinion is now conclusive, and yet I see there are still some "climate change deniers" out there. At least in the UK, however, the political momentum behind action is pretty powerful, and I was pleased that the Environment Secretary David Miliband, who visited Edinburgh, including Leith, on Friday made clear his personal commitment to action.
The test, of course, for all politicians is are we going to deliver enough to make a difference, and quickly enough. I know that's what we have to do - I, for one, find the prospects outlined by the International Panel terrifying. It's clear that if we - by which mean this country, but the world community as a whole as well - don't take radical action, we are facing massive economic and social disruption at the least, and possibly the effective end of human civilisation itself. And yet we're still actually subsidising new air flights to and from Scotland, for instance, a policy which is supported by all the major political parties in Scotland. We've got to start examining this type of policy to see if it really can be compatible with a comprehensive policy on tackling climate change - and of course there are other examples both domestically and internationally which raise similar questions about how consistent they are with a commitment to tackle climate change.
P.S. For those who've noticed the gap in the blog, I've had a lot of problems with spam and the like - I've taken steps which will hopefully deal with that!
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