SCIENCE was sidelined at the climate conference in The Hague last month. Its
very success means that everyone who matters is now prepared to agree that, yes,
human activity contributes significantly to climate change. But in the process
the political argument has altered. Now that all but a few holdouts have
accepted that belching out carbon dioxide is changing things, we’re confronted
with the fact that the effects of emissions so far will arrive over decades.
This century’s climate has already been changed.
Hence the focus on “coping”. This emphasis is shared by countries ranging
from Britain, which seems to…
