After the VW scandal, how can we trust business to act on climate change?

The VW scandal helps reinforce cynicism about the ability of the private sector to act in good faith and do their bit to tackle climate change

It won't show up in any biodiversity assessment, or make it into a State Of The World report. But alongside tuna stocks, tropical rainforests, and the white rhino, there is another finite resource being ruthlessly squandered through unsustainable practices.

Trust - the invisible but crucial glue that holds communities together and social contracts in place - is a precious commodity. And every time a corporation poisons our atmosphere (with this year's villainous cameo coming courtesy of the car manufacturer Volkswagen), they are doing something else that is just as destructive: poisoning the well of public opinion.