Extinctions of 20 to 30 per cent of the world's species, more severe droughts, food and water shortages, and the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet.

They are the consequences of a temperature rise averaging 4 degrees, and according to a global analysis, this is a reality.

One of the outcomes from the climate change summit held in Copenhagen last year was the intention to limit such a rise in temperatures to between 1.5 and 2 degrees. But monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 60 countries has been conducted, and the Climate Interactive Scoreboard (a tool that calculates the long-term climate impacts of proposals being considered in climate change negotiations) demonstrates that no one is achieving this target.

This is backed up by a study by Climate Analytics in Germany that says there is 'virtually no chance'' that world governments will keep the temperature rise below 2 degrees.

''We've made progress but we're clearly not headed where we need to be,'' said Andrew Jones, co-director of Climate Interactive ''No one is talking about changing any of the 2020 proposals.''

So as usual leadership and change for the positive needs to come from individuals, communities, and business who don't have a vested interest in the continued destruction of the environment.

Let's face it, climate change as an issue to be taken seriously has been discussed at government level for well over a decade with little to no action being taken. You need only look at the increasing emission figures to realise change at that level won't come.

And if you continue to be a skeptic when it comes to climate change, why not ask yourself what harm will be done by investing in a renewable energy future? Are there other, more lucrative outcomes to be had by protecting the last remnants of the world's forests and relying only on the ample plantations we have at our disposal?

Change is inevitable. But the direction we take is within our control.