Prediction, as they say, is tough - especially when it's about the future. But this is the time of year to have a punt, so here are mine for 2012. Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach a record, but international negotiations on cutting emissions will make slow progress. Poor people in developing countries will continue to suffer from a changing climate, even as many in comfortable circumstances carry on arguing over whether it is happening. at home, the EU will start legal proceedings against Britain for failing to meet air pollution standards. Badger lovers will go to law to stop culling, starting in the autumn. and ministers will struggle to amend their controversial planning reforms sufficiently to satisfy their supporters. Electric cars will proliferate, Israel and Denmark starting nationwide programmes, but they will not catch on here. Ministers will launch the biggest drive for insulating houses and some firms will achieve carbon neutrality. The Treasury will bear down hard on green measures, as conventional wisdom holds them irrelevant in harsh times. But grassroots initiatives will emerge, as the public becomes increasingly convinced that the world is changing and that the path back to prosperity must be greener. See you then.