Climate change sceptics have for a long time sapped the energy and time of those of us who look at the evidence and the science. Obvious examples include the infamous WUWT sceptic haven, where commentators seize on any scrap and spin it to suit their point of view, or individuals like Lord Monckton and Nick Griffin.
Occasionally there is a surprising conversion, where a sceptic looks at the science and decides that actually the truth is not in any doubt, but most will not change. Denial is a predictable human emotion and we sometimes use it to blot out things that challenge us in ways we find uncomfortable. The changes that a move to a sustainable society will require seem to strike terror into those that wish to pollute at will, with no restrictions on their actions.
Despite that, I would say that the sceptics are not the ones we need to worry about any more. There is a far more dangerous group, many of them in positions of power, who are derailing the best efforts to deal with the immense peril that climate change will bring. These are the individuals, lobbyists and interest groups that oppose action that will move us towards sustainability and away from exploitation. In every negotiation and every agreement, you'll have lobbyists pushing to protect their narrow sector interests. They are paid to do so and they are only paid if they are good at their job. They point out the immediate human cost and political cost to our decision makers without consideration for the full human cost of inaction. Most of these lobbyists and the politicians that bend to their pressure will accept climate change as a reality and recognise the science behind it, but the compromising and sliding back from commitments has become all too common.
So when you find the Green Party pressing for transparency, open government and consultation, you'll understand that we know that our political system and the power of vested interests must be changed. We've seen the Liberal Democrats in the UK vastly underplay their hand and waste a once-in-a-generation chance to reform the discredited First Past the Post voting system. We've seen the UK parliament reject a recommendation from the House of Commons Public Affairs Select Committee that there should be a statutory register of lobbying interests and lobbyists to improve transparency. Instead of a new chance for better politics, the establishment, both red and blue, have blocked any change.
Lobbying will always happen - it's an inevitable and in many cases desirable aspect of democracy - but it simply isn't fair that moneyed interests should have such enormous potential to subvert democracy to their own ends, while for example putting future generations at risk of the consequences of catastrophic climate change. So how about the following as steps towards curbing the negative effects of lobbying?
•Don't let MPs get away with 'self-regulation'. Institute a public register of lobbying interests and lobbyists, as recommended by the Public Affairs Select Committee.
•Publish all lobbying communications (apart from individual constituents' communications with their own elected representatives) on the internet, to allow public and media scrutiny.
•Explore changes in company law to require all registered companies to publish in their annual accounts details of sums spent on lobbying and for what purposes.
•Funding for the Electoral Commission to publish independent reports on the issues subjected to the greatest amounts of lobbying, condensing and summarising the roles played by various protagonists and the sums spent.
I believe the general public would welcome changes like these, but I would have little confidence in Britain's three biggest parties bringing them about. That's another reason why the Greens need to act as a voice of political change and the party that isn't going to bow to corporate power on key social and environmental issues from financial regulation to climate change.