BBC Climate Discussion

Fascinating discussion on the BBC's news site on whether there's enough political will to tackle climate change.

Much of the debate is around whether or not climate change is caused by us or by other factors and whose job it is to clear it up.

There is a clear body of evidence to suggest that we are to blame, at least in part. There is also evidence to suggest that it's part of natural cycles. The debate must be evidence based and transparent - that's how good science is carried out. No-one should be shouted down just because others disagree, no matter how unpalatable the opinion. However, the so-called "minority" views on solar radiation, volcanoes etc should be prepared to submit their evidence for review and if the evidence is invalid, that should be accepted. But the only way to achieve that is to have the debate out in the open - it's no use trying to silence dissenters.

In the meantime, there's also an argument to say while we're having that debate, we should be focussing on doing the kinds of things suggested by those who believe in man-made climate change. Environmental issues disproportionately affect those in the poorer and/or less developed countries, whether those issues are caused by us in the west or the people in those countries. We learnt a great deal about pollution and environmental impact during the industrial revolution and the 20th Century in general. There's an imbalance - what we do adversely affects those who get none of the benefit of our actions. It's time we started thinking of those in other countries as our neighbours, not simply as "others" and treating them with the dignity and respect we'd expect for ourselves.