Benet (right) joins Climate Clinic's 'Coal vs Renewables' debate

One of the great traditions of British politics is the seaside conference. It is sad to think it might soon be a thing of the past. In 2007 all three political parties held their conferences in seaside resorts; this year the Climate Clinic only needs its bucket and spade once – for the Lib Dem Conference in Bournemouth.

We were promised the "greenest budget yet". We've been given a budget that's dirty brown. Instead of grasping the opportunity to restructure our economy to deal with the threat of catastrophic climate change, the Chancellor has actively damaged his environmental credentials and hurt efforts to reduce UK CO2 emissions.

It is not just that the green taxes announced will be ineffectual; it's that there is no recognition of the scale of the problem or fundamental changes needed if we are to decarbonise our economy.

There's nothing like putting your arguments to the test to know whether you are right; and appearing in front of MPs debating the Energy Bill to defend Greenpeace's policies certainly tests your arguments. (You can watch the performance here - you will need to fast forward two-hours and watch the last hour).

Callum Roberts, John Sauven, Antonio Carluccio, Raymond Blanc & Tom Aikens at last night's launch

Sustainable bouillabaisse today or jellyfish burgers tomorrow: a stark message from the celebrity chefs and marine experts at the launch of Greenpeace's latest initiative Seafood See Life at Old Billingsgate Fish Market in the heart of the City of London.

It's not often that Americans are leading on the environment. But in Kansas, USA some of the state's politicians are blazing a trail: they've refused to build any more coal-fired power stations.

Critically, the decision was made on climate change grounds.

Every industry has its own trade association: from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the British Air Transport Association, through to the British Association of Fair Trade Shops and the Solar Trade Association. These bodies are set up by companies with a common purpose to help them lobby for their interests.

It's easy to talk about the government as if it were a single, all-powerful, bureaucratic machine, with tentacles stretching out from Downing Street into every aspect of our daily lives. Of course, it simply isn't like that.

Governments are a collection of individuals: from the 22 who sit round the Cabinet table, through the hundred or so ministers in various government departments, their political special advisers and civil servants. Throw in the external pressures of the media, business, and organisations like Greenpeace, and you see that far from being a single machine, it is a complicated alliance of individuals who come together to form the body politic. And as the Environment Minister Hilary Benn said today, it's important that they all "get it" on climate change.

On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of MPs met in committee room 11 at the House of Commons to vote on the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO). It was a "delegated legislation" committee; which means they vote on things that would take up too much time on the floor of the House of Commons.

However, this time it was no small legal technicality being decided. Instead they voted to allow a measure which could lead to further trashing of the rainforests.

It is easy to call for dramatic change; it's harder to deliver it. Even those of us at Greenpeace who are eternal optimists recognise that change can be tough to achieve. Just because it's difficult doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. If we are to prevent the effects of catastrophic climate change we are going to need big measures and bold leadership from our politicians.

The problem is that in this country we are simply not doing anything like enough! I have been looking into what the rest of Europe is doing to wean itself off fossil fuels and comparing it to what is happening here. All very depressing - but enough to say that the UK is languishing at the bottom of the pile for renewable energy (just 1.75 per cent if you are interested) compared to an EU average of 7 per cent. In Germany they are predicting they will get 8 per cent of their final energy from renewables next year.

It is not often that energy policy gets a round of applause. Let's be honest, it is a pretty arcane subject sometimes. Discussions about the energy mix, transmission arrangements and internal rates of return for wind energy are not the usual subjects for debate on the floor of a political conference.