by Chris Welby, Good Energy’s commercial director

That may sound a strange request.  After all, the Vatican is not known for being 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 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 hand over day-to-day running of their respective countries to their deputies, and enter the Copenhagen conclave.  In the papal conclaves of olden days cardinals were denied food and sanitary arrangements – and in one, several cardinals died, but the bodies were left in to focus minds. I’m not suggesting we need to go quite that far -- but for many leaders, the fear of what their deputies are up to should be incentive enough to reach a hasty solution.

There’ve been several campaigns targeting Copenhagen: the Wave, 100 months etc.  However, as politicians are now setting expectations that they won’t reach 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 agree to take strong action on climate change, say so now.