Climate change is seldom far from the headlines, so much so that there is a danger that familiarity can breed, if not contempt, then a little fatigue. The problem can seem so complex and its effects often so remote that there is little we can do or need to do.

Tomorrow is World Environmental Day, a chance to tackle such attitudes, and is being backed by Bradford Council and University. The Council will reiterate a pledge to slash its carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2011. The university, too, is aiming for a massive reduction in its carbon dioxide output. And it is hoped businesses will follow suit and minimise their impact on the environment.

But the question which needs to be asked is whether such initiatives have any real impact in global terms or whether they just act as a sop to our collective conscience. Obviously, whatever is done in our district or even nationally will have little or no impact in world terms on its own. We cannot hope to offset the damage done by larger countries such as the USA and China, for example.

What we need to do, then, is persuade these nations and others that it is in their interests to change their ways. We can only hope to do this if we set an example, showing what can be achieved and proving it is affordable and effective. And we can only do this if we all get involved.

So what happens on the ground in Bradford this week and every week can make a difference, but only if we are all pulling in the same direction.