There has been plenty of talk about climate change over the last few years, but I would argue that many, many politicians, business leaders, and ordinary people, still do not see it as an urgent and overarching problem that needs significant coordinated action from all levels of society, from global leaders to ourselves at grass roots.

I continue to be amazed that so many otherwise intelligent and compassionate people can still deny the science behind calls for effective action to halt global temperature rise.

I would be dubious of any science that declared itself one hundred per cent certainty about anything, but the huge majority of scientists in many disciplines agree that the current rise in global temperatures is a result of human activity.

I find it incomprehensible that our politicians really have not got to grips with the issue and are not treating it with the urgency it deserves.

Using fossil fuels contributes massively to global warming and I strongly believe that we should leave fossil fuels in the ground and urgently deploy alternatives.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the UK will spend £26bn on fossil fuel subsidies this year (factoring in World Health Organisation estimates on harm to health from pollution exposure). By comparison, Department for Energy and Climate Change figures show the cost of supporting renewables was just £3.5bn last year, predicted to rise to £4.3bn next year.

As global pressure mounts to move away from fossil fuel use, investments in those industries may very well go down in value as Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has pointed out.

Locally, I believe that we should be questioning where local and county council pension funds put their money, even on purely financial grounds, let alone the fact that they are thereby supporting the most destructive industry on the planet.

Rising sea levels caused by climate change will be a real issue in the not too far distant future. A recent report states that the melting of just two glaciers in Greenland, the Zachariae Isstrom and the Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, could lead to a global sea level rise of one metre in a relatively short time frame.

Low-lying countries such as Bangladesh are highly vulnerable to sea level change and we could see literally millions of people on the move seeking safety. The numbers would completely dwarf the current refugee numbers in Europe and almost certainly lead to large scale conflicts over land and resources. The human cost is unimaginable.

Closer to home, rising sea levels will, for instance, affect Cumbria in areas adjacent to Morecambe Bay such as the Lyth valley, and this will act in addition to the flooding seen recently as a result of very high rainfall.

Recent heavy rain rendered local roads impassable at times, and it is not so long ago that Cockermouth suffered severe flooding, providing a taste of things to come.

While I understand that no single weather event can be attributed to climate change, overall the predicted trend is for significant weather events to become more extreme.

Are we going to wait and see, bury our heads in the sand, and hope for the best, leaving the next generation to cope, or can we do better than that?

Local friends are off to Paris next week to make their voices heard at the United Nations Climate Conference. Meanwhile I'll make my voice heard at the People's Climate Rally organised by Global Justice Now on Saturday the 28th at noon at the YHA in Ambleside, and at the flashmob event at Kendal market place at 1pm on Sunday the 29th. Details of both on avaaz.org. I hope to see you there.