More than 100 years ago, an American Geographer, Ellen Churchill Sempel, put forward the idea that the natural environment has an enormous impact on people and the culture they develop. Applying Ms. Sempel's ideas to our own time, the issue of how the world either deals with the threat of climate change or adapt to its effects will have an impact on our cultures and societies.

After 23 years the world has established a framework to deal with climate change and although the problem is far from solved, the fact that there is an agreement is nothing less than historic.

Although I am not a lawyer or a diplomat, I must admit that reading the draft of the Paris accord that was released on Saturday has made me optimistic that an agreement is in sight.