Copenhagen still ignores the reality of geo-political relations

While some people would have you believe that Copenhagen has changed the way global politics is conducted the reality of international relations remains the same

The problem for the summit and this problem itself is not the science or the conviction behind it, but the diplomatic reality of trying to get 200 countries to agree on the same objective, let alone the same methodology.

Smaller bilateral treaties amongst the bigger emitters will work much more. That it doesn't pander to the global sense of guilt at our planetary abuse for the past 200 years makes it unpalatable to much of the left. But the international system is one based on national sovereignty, and as long as countries continue to act in their own interests, they will not be able to act in the global interest.

The nature of the human lifespan makes many of these predictions impossible to conceptualise for a great swathe of populations in developed countries. Whilst the goals of the conference are entirely laudable, they remain impossible in their current guise, so long as the UN holds on to this false idea of international co-operation.

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Climate change remedies must address individual incentives

Any reasonable person would little doubt the degree of effect that human activity is having on the climate. Indeed, one would be surprised if it was not having such an effect. But articulating the problems of our existence on this planet is not the issue.

The problem is that we are only just becoming aware of the issues relating to climate change, and furthermore, in figuring out ways in which to alter behaviour that we - both as a global population, and more specifically as nations and developed societies - might not want to change.

Technological advances and the harnessing of natural resources has exacerbated our hedonistic excesses and our desire to simplfiy our lives and pursue our happiness. Suddenly being told that to continue this behaviour puts the future of the planet at stake is something not everyone finds easy to believe, and a vast number of others simply refuse to believe. These are the people that lie at the heart of the battle over climate change.

The scientific argument cannot be much more apparent. One can only lay out the evidence for an argument, not force people to believe it. Instead these people must be given other incentives to reduce their carbon footprint and make more efforts to restrict their contribution to climate change.

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