Capturing rogue carbon

declare that the warming world is phenomenon beyond all doubt, and that the likelihood of this being caused by the human action of putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — and not, say, by increased solar activity, as some have argued — is greater than 90 per cent. For all but the most perverse of sceptics, it ends the basic argument. And it also urgently warns that the risks are greater, and possibly sooner, than was appreciated even six years ago, when the third assessment was published. " Warming of the climate system, " it states, " is unequivocal ". It makes clear that the atmosphere is rapidly warming, snow and ice are melting across the world, and the global sea level is rising at an increasing rate, yet the problem is solvable if governments act decisively. It is of immediate importance for the 10,000 ministers, diplomats, officials and civil servants from every country who are assembling in Bali to try to sketch out a new international climate treaty to follow the Kyoto Protocol. Developing countries were not included amongst the countries in this protocol trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other key countries, such as the US and Australia, failed to sign up. Since this protocol, the economies of countries such as China and India have taken off: China is now second only to the US in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers hope that a new agreement in Bali will have a wider agreement than Kyoto. The report's key points highlight that all regions are getting hotter. The extent of Arctic ice is shrinking by 2.7 per cent per decade and more areas are being affected by drought. It points out that human greenhouse gas emissions grew by 70 per cent from 1970 to 2004. Carbon dioxide output rose by 80 per cent and the gas is now at its highest concentration in the atmosphere for 650,000 years. Greenhouse gas emissions are projected to almost double by 2030. The new slim volume certainly packs a data punch for the Bali policymakers. Going green is traditionally associated with consuming less but politicians are rarely willing to promote this kind of thinking, for fear of damaging the economy fuelled by the illusion of limitless growth in production and consumption. But what if green thinking can open up a market for a new technology? Maybe we can help the planet …