What lessons should the EU draw from Copenhagen? Can the EU still be a driving force in global climate politics? Should the EU continue to push for a global agreement, or should it consider other options, such as bilateral agreements? Should it even take unilateral action, as advocated by some European stakeholders, and increase its emissions reduction target from 20% to 30% without waiting for the US and China to follow? Is a global deal still possible, and when might it be reached?

These are just some of the questions that Comment:Visions invites you to debate with a panel of senior EU decision-makers and stakeholders.

The summit also revealed the limits of EU influence. The EU, which had been instrumental in getting the Kyoto protocol agreed, was unable to shape a deal in Copenhagen, outmanoeuvred by the US and China.

What lessons should the EU draw from Copenhagen? Can the EU still be a driving force in global climate politics? Should the EU continue to push for a global agreement, or should it consider other options, such as bilateral agreements?

These are just some of the questions that Comment:Visions invites you to debate with a panel of senior EU decision-makers and stakeholders.

The climate change conference in Copenhagen ended without a binding global agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

So, if governments cannot agree on measures to mitigate climate change, who then will provide the incentives and initiatives and perhaps more importantly the finances, that are needed? A growing number of leaders are beginning to look to the private sector to provide solutions. With regard to climate change, is it business to the rescue?

As nations gather to seek an agreement on solving climate change, many are working behind the scenes to create the innovations and protocols that will form the foundation of a new, emission-free society. The fossil fuels that are greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions also provide the majority of the energy that we rely on. Is it possible to create new clean sources of energy and a business environment that will help transform our planet without compromising our way of life?

At the beginning of the year, Euronews began a journey, travelling throughout Europe, seeking out scientists, engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs for their opinions. At the same time, European Voice held regular debates inviting delegates from politics, industry, government and science to take part in finding answers to the burning questions that confront us. Visions of Future Energy is a selection of the opinions expressed in the television programmes.

In this month’s Comment Visions we travel to Norway to talk to a man whose career has involved studying the changing nature of our planet. Dr Pal Prestud is an ecologist and serves as the Director of the Centre for Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo. His work has focused on the Polar Regions, which have acted as an early warning system for the sort of climatic changes greenhouse gases are driving.

Didier Sornette talks about how he thinks people will respond to these challenges, how the search for solutions will be forced upon humans by the scarcity of resources and the likely ways in which life on earth will look. By 2050 an increased population will encounter fuel and water shortages. Professor Sornette looks at three possible scenarios for the global response to these problems and predicts that future scientific research could create solutions we cannot yet imagine.