CLIMATE change is not a distant ungraspable threat.

It's not something that's going to happen to our children and to their children. It's something that is already happening and its effects are already being felt.

Not my words; this was Alex Salmond speaking at a conference on low carbon technology last year.

He also said that low carbon development isn't just an economic opportunity, it's also a "moral imperative".

I couldn't agree more. As the science progresses we see the window of opportunity closing fast.

The world does still have the chance to transform our economies to achieve a healthy balance with the environmental systems which sustain our lives.

But the damage we've already done will be tough to adapt to, and that burden will fall hardest on those least responsible for the harm and least able to respond.

The rich world clearly bears a moral responsibility.

The politics of climate change also present huge problems.

It's understandable that many poorer countries point to the far higher emissions per person in Europe or the US, and say "we didn't cause this problem; you have no right to use it to hold us back".

In countries like the US, climate change remains a polarising issue, with the fossil fuel industry pouring money into anti-science campaigning, just as the tobacco industry and others did before.

But perhaps the biggest political barrier to action on climate change is that even the countries which have positively aligned themselves with the issue seem more concerned to say the right thing than to do the right thing.

Being seen to be green can be an attractive stance for many politicians whose true priority is business-as-usual.

Mr Salmond's comments were made in direct response to evidence that his wider energy policies, including consistent support for the fossil fuel industry, would put an additional 10billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, making a joke of that "world leading" Climate Change Act.

This came hot on the heels of news that the Scottish Government had missed its first ever annual emission target.

Now, here we are again. In the last week it was confirmed that the second annual target has been missed.

Despite clear opportunities for more ambitious emission cuts, especially from homes and transport, the Government is still investing in high-carbon road infrastructure, and cutting the housing budget.

If even the countries committed on paper to taking climate change seriously are failing to deliver on the action that's needed, the world will be in a far deeper hole than it needs to be.

It's time to stop strutting the international stage being "world leading", and start showing leadership on the issue here at home.