Hollywood eco-stars such as George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio have bagged the first of a 600-car production run being built by Lotus in the UK. The ultimate direct action man, he co-founded Greenpeace in the 70s and now has two boats that patrol the world 's oceans and confront anyone he has evidence of acting criminally. To attain this, a huge area of the city centre has been turned into a pedestrian zone and there are 500km of bike paths. Chris Tuppen, BT's head of sustainable development, wrote the company's first environmental report in 1992. Rather than the two decades or so it can take to bring a drug to market, he envisages his modified micro-organisms producing commercial fuels within just a few years.

Dozens of other new urban groups are working in 70 countries and hundreds of thousands of people have benefited. As president of the National Slum Dwellers Association and Slum Dwellers International, he is rallying the world's poorest city dwellers to improve their environment. Shanghai plans to subsidise 100,000 solar panels for the city and the state is preparing to build the world's biggest solar generating facility in the Gobi desert.In November, China belatedly released a five-year plan for environmental protection, for the first time mentioning the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but it gave no targets or deadlines for doing so. More force of nature than wooden presidential candidate now, Al Gore's reinvention as Mr Climate Change is based on a long-standing passion for the environment.

It's a serious question because the odds are increasing that over the next two years rich and poor countries will come round to Aubrey Meyer's way of thinking if they are to negotiate a half-decent global deal to reduce climate change emissions. Many of these saplings may not survive more than a few weeks, and the numbers are not to be trusted, but the billion tree campaign shows that Maathai - a professor of biology and mother of three children - has gone from being almost unknown in 2003 to a global treasure in just a few years. As the world scrambles to find a fuel supply that doesn't exacerbate global warming, New Zealander Vicki Buck, 51, has emerged as the acceptable face of biofuels. His film Still Life, which won the 2006 Golden Lion award at Venice, is a tale of social upheaval and ecological destruction set against the backdrop of the Three Gorges Dam in China - one of the world's biggest hydroelectric projects which has forced millions of people to move.

Riding House is well known for its easy-going all-day fare and epic brunch menus, and this Fitzrovia institution can be yours exclusively - the dining room at Riding House Fitzrovia is available for private hire and fits north of 50 guests, offering trendy, welcoming interiors and delicious food. He's working with the Pentagon, which spends nearly a third of its vast budget on moving troops and equipment around. Kanishka’s large, stylish restaurant is an easy choice if you’re looking to impress some dinner guests - the turquoise colour palette and contemporary design is suitably glamorous for a special occasion. At the time, scientists believed that deciphering this alphabet soup of genes would unleash a revolution in medicine. Hosking has clearly tapped into a new public mood and has found that there is no need to wait for governments to effect change.