Consistent cloud

As long as climate policy is consistent, that is all that matters. Michael Grubb, speaking on carbon dioxide emissions policy to the Royal Institute of International Affairs last week, told of the reply he received from a German academic when he criticised the country's plan to open a new coal mine as inconsistent with its climate policy. "It is consistent," was the reply. "Everything we do in Germany in energy policy is inconsistent with our climate policy and therefore this is consistent".