By Community Correspondent: Jamie MacEwan

The Copenhagen Climate Conference will join the leaders of the world together to debate the prickliest issue of our age. All eyes will be focused on what the politicians can do to save the planet.

Yet, is this not laying too much pressure on their shoulders?

In the past, Government intervention of democracies such as ours was relatively limited. A hundred years ago, the beginnings of the welfare state provoked fierce debate about the responsibilities of Governments to their citizens.

It should still be recognized that Governments still only control their countries to a certain limit. They may hold a monopoly on violence – policing and the army – but, significantly, most of our economy rests in private hands.

This begs the question: to what extent can we look to Governments to solve problems our private enterprise has created? The dilemma revolves around the fact that tackling climate change involves changing our entire society.

Do we really need the Government to instigate this, or is the matter in our own hands?

What got me thinking about this was attending the Student Earth Summit at the O2 Arena – the UK’s sixth form preamble to Copenhagen. During the day, we were subject to intense accounts of the dire straits we – not necessarily our planet – are in.

For example, we are sure to lose the coral reefs and the North Pole ice. Worse still, each issue seemingly creates even more problems, escalating the sense of runaway destruction of our civilisation.

Despite this, we left the hall with no clear obligations to act – just recommendations. Can this be morally justified, considering the urgency with which climate journalist Donnachadh McCarthy talked?

We evidently have no time to lose. Furthermore, we could not complain about being ill-informed after the day. So, surely we of all people ought to have been automatically signed up to some sort of scheme.

It appears that apathy is crucial in blocking our latent potential. Surely if an inspiring universal project had been proposed, we would have jumped at the change to contribute?

It is clear that people will act only if given financial incentive or if they believe that they can really change things.

So let’s hope that the politicians not only come back with far-off goals, but also with an idea of how to get there involving us – their countries and people.