Climate change inaction is like Aids denial, says scientist
Professor Nilay Shah, of Imperial College London, predicted that those who argue against a rapid cut in emissions would be judged similarly to those who had disputed the medical evidence on Aids in the past.

Prof Shah was speaking as he launched a report advocating global spending of $2 trillion a year by 2050, or 1 per cent of GDP, to limit global warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels.

He said: "There's an interesting parallel with South Africa in the 90s, where political capital was being made out of HIV denial.

“Those people must now regret what they did. I suspect that some of the politicians [now arguing against rapid cuts in emissions] will still be around in the mid-2030s and will reflect that they didn't do enough on climate change."

While comparing climate scepticism with Aids denial "might be a bit flippant", it involved the same issue of ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence, he added. ...