Several key business leaders, scientists and academics spoke yesterday of the disappointments of the Copenhagen Climate Conference and what needs to change in Cancun in a couple of weeks if it is to be successful.

Richard Gledhill, Global Leader, Climate Change & Carbon Market Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers said: “The outlook isn’t very encouraging: Trust in the process; trust between negotiating blocs; trusts in markets; even trust in some of the science, or scientists, has fractured.”

The group were speaking at a Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum seminar and voiced suggestions for different approaches needed to meet climate change targets.

Andrew Pendleton, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, expressed a change in political approach: “What can we do? There’s been a lot of focus, over the last decade, on science and then economics, but what I think needs to happen now is a big focus on the politics. We need to plan a politics initiative.”

Dr Douglas Parr, the Chief Scientist at Greenpeace suggested linking environmental issues with what ordinary people find important: “There are plenty of initiatives that can be taken which don’t rely on people having a deep understanding of climate models but are actually about the stuff of ordinary politics; they are about getting things done and getting the economy moving.”

The notion of importance was echoed elsewhere as those speaking highlighted a growing lack of interest in environmental issues as a consequence of the global economic situation.

COP 16 in Cancun runs from November 29 through to December 10.