Climate change policy should be central to realistic development programme, writes Mike Muller IT IS usually only after the event that you realise its significance. But earlier this year, in a small town in Switzerland, I could see history being made as some very senior Chinese and US energy and environment officials joked with each other. At issue was whose coal-fired power stations were most efficient and who was going to reduce their emissions by how much and how quickly.The Chinese delegates said they would perhaps reach "peak coal" consumption and start reducing their emissions by 2030, instead of 2035.The Americans bettered that: they predicted a continued decline in the amount of coal they would burn, to be replaced by lower-emission sources of energy such as gas, enabling them to meet and then go beyond their 2025 targets.Also at that meeting were the leaders of a couple of major power companies, including the biggest manufacturer of coal-fired power stations in the world, t...
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