Climate Change

as threats become less certain, or causally complex, it becomes harder to find the urgency to tackle them. The complex causality of climate change also plays particularly strongly to the natural human tendency to diffuse responsibility the passive bystander effect
George Marshall the New Statesman 1 December 2003

Last year was the third warmest year worldwide since records began in 1861 and all of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1990 , yet an astounding 85 percent of the UK population believes they will not witness the effects of climate change for decades. The UK bill for flood damage was a staggering 700 million last year and nearly five million people in the UK live in a flood plain, which makes it hard for them to get cover. One heat wave killed 20,000 people in Europe alone , and natural disasters cost the world more than US$60 billion in 2003. Global warming is a reality and the impacts and cost of this will increase year on year . The public as energy consumers will ultimately pay for the additional cost of climate change in the future. Therefore immediate priorities of energy policy to reduce carbon emissions are most cost effectively served by promoting energy efficiency and expanding the role of renewables.