“The trees gathered to agree a response to the growing threat of the Homo sapiens,” said the story-telling old lady who waylaid me in a park.  “After several weeks of debate had passed, up rose Sam Sequoia who said, ‘You have spent so much time in organising and fighting for who will be leader that you have all completely lost sight of your objectives.’”

The tale could almost be a complete summary of the UN summit on climate change which took place in Copenhagen in December.  After decades of research, years of talks and months of preliminary negotiations, the summit ended with a whimper and a partial agreement that is worse than no deal at all.