Cool Heads Needed in Cancun

While Europe goes into gridlock with more snow and ice than it can cope with, Government and business leaders from the world over meet in the more tropical clime of Cancun, Mexico to battle over words and deeds to achieve an outcome of sorts to put us all on a more manageable planetary path in the face of an overheating earth. Whether we needed reminding or not – and Europeans certainly don’t – that this year will go down as one of the earth’s hottest ever, the news this week has a bias towards Cancun and climate change action. We hear from impatient business leaders at home and aboard – like Graeme Wood and Yvo de Boer – that we expect more action and less talk from our political masters. We also get the message from Singapore economist Euston Quah that taxing carbon could be the best course of action. South Korea’s leadership to green its economy might get overtaken by China, while Singapore gets a $2.5 billion dollar investment in solar panel manufacturing and Michael Richardson gives us a global view of the solar industry. Now there’s a bright idea? The UN is urging all countries to adopt energy efficient light bulbs as a means to change behaviour and cut fossil fuel usage. Jet bio fuels get a regular flight test with Lufthansa and Mercedes plants a seed to make a concept car. Japan shows that electric cars will hurt some in the motor industry and we learn that volcanic eruptions can impact on monsoons and rainfall. Check out Newsweek for its women and leadership issue, and a thoughtful article by Sharon Begley to help solve a climate whodunit. After his whirlwind tour of Australia and Singapore, Dr Martin Blake is safely back in the snow of Scotland. We’ll hear more from him and his Carbon Zero Solutions next issue. Keep a cool head and a warm body! – Ken Hickson