A load of hot air

Full implementation of the Kyoto agreement would have cost the world e160bn a year in lost GDP growth, with a temperature reduction of just 0.004C.

THE UN green summit in Rio de Janeiro is in trouble — and with good reason. The planners of the mammoth event have been unable to agree on just what to say in the outcome document, ironically called: “The Future We Want.”

Finding common ground won’t be easy. Over the past four decades, the UN’s concern for “green” issues has moved closer to the fashionable concerns of rich Westerners and away from the legitimate concerns of the overwhelming majority of Earth’s people.