Unavoidable climate change will cost Africa at least 1.7 per cent of its GDP by 2040 – US$26.35 billion a year at current rates - and leave millions more people suffering from hunger, diseases, floods and water shortages.

The climate-change campaign needs a sense of can-do enthusiasm, says Giles Fraser. It would be really something if faith leaders were able to help replace gloomy defeatism with a broader version of something Christians call hope.

Resettlement of people displaced by the consequences of climate change was highlighted as a major concern for churches at a gathering of ecumenical representatives from Asia and the Pacific region.

British Muslims and Christians aged 18-25 are uniting to urge the UK government to press for significant progress in tackling climate change at the international summit due in Copenhagen next month.