Denial of reality only works in the short term

I FELT sorry for the guy who told me he had found the meaning to life only to discover that they had recently changed it.

- With Graham Davies

For one problem with change is “short-termism” - giving priority to short-term outcomes at the expense of long-term success.

It happens in politics when policy-making focuses on the next election; in business when investors look for quick financial returns; in personal behaviour when immediate gratification is preferred to more long-term relationships.

Now it's happening in climate change: it’s not so cool any more to talk about heating up. Yet the most recent report on the European climate is worse than Ed Miliband’s attempt to eat a bacon sandwich.