The second thing is, if you want to do something about global warming, you have to think much more long-term. There is something wrong with saying we should start using renewables now, while they are still incredibly expensive.

My suggestion is that we should first work to ensure the Third World has clean drinking water and sanitation.

To prepare adequately for the challenge of global warming, we must acknowledge both the good and the bad that it will bring. If our starting point is to prove that Armageddon is on its way, we will not consider all of the evidence, and will not identify the smartest policy choices.

Money spent on carbon cuts is money we can't use for effective investments in food aid, micronutrients, HIV/AIDS prevention, health and education infrastructure, and clean water and sanitation.

Obviously any group that has to have funding also needs to get attention to their issues.

Global warming is real - it is man-made and it is an important problem. But it is not the end of the world.

The Kyoto treaty has an estimated cost of between US$150 and $350 billion a year, starting in 2010.