I for one was pleased to see the release of Sir Nicholas Stern's report on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. I have been a convert to the concept of the linkage between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming for some time, but I would like to pose a question to those head-in-the-sand, in-denial ostriches who are not (in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and an unprecedented, almost complete consensus in the scientific community).

Do you buy insurance? If you buy fire insurance, what do you think the chances are of a catastrophic fire destroying your home? To make my point more specific, even if you think that it is not a cast-iron certainty that we will end up having to give up 20% of our present GDP per year due to climate change, at what percentage of risk are you willing to pay out say 1% per year in environmental damage control 'premiums'? Particularly when every scientist that isn't a crackpot is willing to say that climate change is happening, and that the repercussions are likely to be completely disastrous. Even if you only think there is a 10% chance of disastrous climate change, it would be completely rational for you to support staving off potential environmental apocalypse.

Especially when every indicator points to that percentage being well over 50%. This is not a bet any insurance company would be willing to take on. Will you still sniff at the writing on the wall and say it's not happening?