We bailed out the banks but we’re not prepared to bail out the planet

US and UK must use financial firepower of the state to put economies on a saner course

Like many other politicians, Joe Biden talks a good game about the need to tackle global heating. Climate change is an existential threat", the US president said last week, as America sizzled amid record-breaking temperatures.

Biden had to do something in response to what Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, described as the boiling of the planet. The White House announced a series of measures - such as improved access to drinking water and planting more trees - in response to what has been the hottest month on record.