It's true that times look tough. Thanks to the sub-prime crisis and the global credit crunch, many economies are in poor shape. Oil prices are continuing their upward spiral and rose by about 400 per cent between 2001 and 2008. And the increase in food costs is affecting most countries around the globe, with prices for dairy products up 80 per cent, cooking oils up 50 per cent, and grains up 42 per cent from 2006 to 2007.

As a result, it's already been suggested that tax increases designed to wean us all off fossil fuels are postponed, if not abandoned. The fear is that they will drive the developed world even deeper into recession. Commentators point to events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, where some argue that climate change was bumped off the agenda by the turmoil on the world markets, as evidence that priorities are already shifting.

I'd argue, however, that people - and companies - who think sustainability is merely a fair-weather exercise have been missing the point.