Scientists are warning that record-breaking ice melt in the Arctic is part of a worrying trend – and the clearest sign yet that society needs to act to tackle climate change. But is climate change a catastrophe waiting to happen or a technological challenge to be overcome? What are some of the world’s leading lights saying?

Yes:

1. Climate change is everyone’s business. For the case of global warming, we should take action, but most of the action that people are suggesting will not address the problem, and so we have to get the energy policy right. It has to be based in science and engineering and technology. There are two things that are really important. One is there’s an enormous amount that can be done with energy efficiency and conservation: better automobiles, better insulation in homes. The second thing that we need to do, and this is equally important, is to recognize that natural gas emits one-third the carbon dioxide of coal.
   Richard Muller, senior scientist at US Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

2. While climate change poses significant global challenges, it also provides strong incentives for research and development and creative problem-solving to help cities and communities anticipate and adapt to its impact. Countries that are more successful in these endeavours will be better positioned to address their own national challenges, provide green technologies and solutions to other countries, and thrive in a changing world. Singapore is actively investing in this area and positioning itself as a test-bed for new technologies and business models that can provide green solutions to the world.
   The National Climate Change Secretariat, Singapore

3. It’s a catastrophe happening. We’ve already broken one of the largest physical features on the planet (the Arctic, which has melted with horrifying speed) and badly damaged another (the oceans, which are 30% more acidic than 40 years ago). he technological challenges of dealing with it (converting quickly to renewables) are small compared to the political problem of dealing with the fossil fuel industry, which so far has blocked change at every turn.
   Bill McKibben, American environmental activist

4. Some changes to our climate are inevitable given the historic build-up of emissions in the atmosphere, but fortunately, many technological solutions exist for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While these technologies come with a price, it is far outweighed by the cost of inaction. Financing these technologies, however, remains a challenge. New sources of finance, such as the carbon markets, are required to mobilise the necessary investment and financial flows to address climate change.
   The Carbon Neutral Company, London

No:

1. Based on the evidence currently available, it is premature to consider geo-engineering as a viable option for addressing climate change. The priority is, and must be, to tackle the root cause by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities and adapting to those impacts that are unavoidable. Mitigation of climate change, by reducing emissions and protecting natural carbon sinks, remains the surest way of increasing our chances of avoiding dangerous climate change in the future. Some, including scientists, have suggested that in the future geo-engineering may have a role to play in supplementing our efforts to mitigate climate change. However, for most techniques, current understanding of the costs, feasibility, environmental and societal impacts is limited.
   The Department of Energy & Climate Change (British Government)

2. Alarmist messages concerning climatic change are generally counterproductive and raise more skepticism than a desire to act. However, the impacts of a changing climate will have significant repercussions on environmental (water availability, ecosystems) and socio-economic (agriculture, health, energy) sectors, with sharply contrasting regional differences and implications for the poorer segments of our societies. Technological and economic measures are thus required to implement adaptation strategies that will alleviate the more negative impacts of a warming climate to which we are currently committed.
   Professor Martin Beniston, Director, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland

3. We do not know what negative and positive effects climate change will have around the world in the next 100 years. Many climate scientists have exaggerated the potential risks due to global warming. While magnifying the possible hazards as a result of warmer temperatures, many ignore the possible economic and health benefits of moderate warming. There is no reason to believe that developed societies won’t be able to cope with any climate changes nature may throw at us. While past societies were extremely vulnerable to climatic stress factors, hightechnology cultures are much more sheltered from likely temperature changes as a result of technological adaptation and societal mitigation.
   Dr Benny Peiser, Director, The Global Warming Policy Foundation, London

4. Short political cycles discourage long-term thinking, particularly where upfront costs may be high. But tackling climate change can help accelerate economic and energy transformations, drive revolutions in technology, and spur creation of new production models. It can drive the creation of new goods, services, jobs, and exports. This, though, requires engaged citizens and bold, far-sighted leaders.
   Helen Clark, chairman of the United Nations Development Group