The world now faces a dire predicament. Our energy-profligate lifestyles are resulting in changes to the climate with the very real prospect that large parts of the planet will become uninhabitable. The challenges for public policy are massive and urgent. Nearly all sectors of the economy and most aspects of our daily lives will be profoundly affected.

My research under this heading has drawn attention to the folly of assuming that we can adequately protect the planet from climate change while continuing to pursue a model of economic growth dependent on large-scale burning of fossil fuels, albeit with increasing efficiency and a growing substitution of sources of renewable energy. It has indicated that the considerable, rapid and necessary reduction of emissions is highly unlikely to be achieved on a voluntary basis. I have concluded that, as a matter of great urgency, governments across the world must set mandatory targets based on a global agreement on per capita rations, delivered in the form of personal carbon allowances. Critically, having set these targets, those governments must then ensure that they are met.