Growth with greenery

The UN climate change conference opens in Copenhagen today, giving humankind a much-needed chance to define its growth model, as well as its future.

True, there is expectation of achieving only a political agreement. But if negotiators both from rich and poor countries demonstrate enough resolution and flexibility in their talks, a Copenhagen deal could well mark the end of the beginning of the global fight against climate change.

Though die-hard climate-change skeptics still refuse to recognize the threats posed by global warming, the Copenhagen summit itself is proof of the growing agreement among politicians, scientists, businessmen and ordinary people on its seriousness.