To address adversity, you first have to recognise the nature of it; next, you have to know where it is and how it behaves and moves; to tackle it, you need to uncover all its secret weapons. And so it is with climate change: we have identified it and its sources; now we need to identify those who will take charge of dispatching of it, take the necessary measures and “rally the troops”.

It is happening now and critical levels are in sight

The real question nagging at environmental fund managers such as BNP Paribas Asset Management is to know when the world is going to organise itself to fight global warming as it should, with all the means demanded by the scale of the damage it is causing and will continue to cause.

Or must we believe that humanity, set in its ways and given its characteristics and its wealth, is running to ruin? Are we ready to sacrifice our children on the altar of comfort that we enjoy today?

Read all about climate and sustainability issues in the “SRI” section on Investors’ Corner.