On Thursday I went to an event with Ed Miliband at NESTA as we were one of the projects selected for funding provided by DECC. Ed Miliband's speech was fantastic and he happily stayed well beyond his allotted time to answer questions.

Two points shone through in his talk. The first was the need for the environmental movement to be positive if it is to engage with the wider population. As he pointed out if Martin Luther King's speech had started with ‘I had a nightmare' it might not have had the same resonance. 

The second was a discussion around Heathrow and Kingsnorth. He pointed out that the Government's Low Carbon Transition strategy puts the UK on course to have the cleanest coal technology in the world. He told us that when he visited China they said that the best thing the UK could do in the fight against climate change is to develop the technology that they could use to clean-up their coal industry.

He is obviously concerned that the environmental movement is using Kingsnorth as a totemic and emotional battleground and clearly believes this is wrong when you look at the international context.  I think he is right.

The arrogant bank

A report on Tuesday set out recommendations on how to control the banking industry. Judging by my experience it is going to be challenging. This week I went to two meetings with very similar aims, they were both about setting strategies to hit carbon targets. One was run by a London Borough and the other by an international bank.

The London Borough meeting was held in a community theatre with decoration untouched since the 1950's including a fantastic Norman Wisdom poster.  he tables were rickety, the cups plastic and the coffee deadlier than a Federer forehand. The discussions were polite, insightful with reasoned debate and intelligent solutions.

The banking meeting was held in a plush board room with fantastic views over the city and elaborate food. The meeting was littered with more swear words than would come from Gordon Ramsey on reading his company results. The tone of the meeting was dismissive, arrogant and condescending. The outcomes were designed to achieve the absolute minimum in the face of the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Obviously banks vary enormously, for example we currently have an excellent relationship with Bank of America, but it amazes me that you can still find pockets of arrogance in an industry that has caused so many problems to society and whose underlying business model has proved so flawed.

UK climate projections

On Friday I heard a brilliant presentation from DEFRA on their new climate change impact projections for the UK (yes I know I need to get out more). A number of things struck me.

The first is just how crucial are the negotiations in Copenhagen. We are currently on-track for a 4 degree rise in our temperature we will only keep it at 2 degrees if the Copenhagen negotiations are successful.

The second is that all the different climatic scenarios are virtually the same up until 2040. This demonstrates that whatever we do, we have already caused a problem and that we need to adapt to this. This adaptation needs to help the most vulnerable in our society.  For example the heat-wave temperatures of 2003 that killed 35,000 people in Europe will be normal in 2040.

Finally, the presentation starkly demonstrated the challenges climate change presents for planners, particularly when it comes to building long-term projects.  For example, if the planners took the worst case scenario when deciding on how to up-grade the Thames Barrier they would have to allow for a sea level rise of 1.9 metres meaning the barrier would have to be built near Southend.

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