by Chris Welby, Good Energy’s commercial director.

That may sound a strange request.  After all, the Vatican is not known for being particularly with it when it comes to the modern world.  However it does have one masterful skill.  How to get leaders to meet and agree a solution.

They do this periodically, when they elect a new Pope.  They gather the Cardinals in a conclave and lock them in, and they stay there until they agree on the new Pope.  Given the seriousness of climate change, locking world leaders in a room and not letting them out until an agreement is signed would be the most effective way forward.

World leaders would handover day to day running of their respective countries to their deputies, and enter the Copenhagen conclave.  I am not suggesting, that we are harsh like the papal conclaves of olden days where cardinals were denied food and sanitary arrangements (In one conclave several cardinals died, but the bodies were left in to focus minds), but I am sure for many leaders, the fear of what their deputies are up to would be incentive enough to reach a hasty solution.

There have been several campaigns on Copenhagen, 10:10, the Wave, 100 months etc.  However, as politicians are now playing down chances of reaching an agreement I’d like to start a new campaign.  It is called the great climate change lock-in.

All those in favour of locking the world’s leading politicians in a room until they reach agreement, say so now.