This "political agenda" argument seems a bit silly to me. The only ones who profit from making a political agenda in general are those already in power and getting very rich in keeping things as they are. Oil companies and car manufacturers would be the ones to accuse of having a politial agenda. What would the political agendas be of scientists from all over the world, simply so they recieve more funding? Is that the theory?
The result of enforcing the view that human activity on this planet has no effect on it's climate and environment (CO2 is just one component but it gets way too much coverage, as if that's the only problem), is that companies who rely on existing technologies can continue to dominate.
It is astounding to me that if it wasn't for the mess in the Middle East, Tesla Motors would be seen as a curiosity, even though they propose a technology which is much more efficient and clean. Plus it would give you the very real posibility of producing your own "fuel" and not having to go to a petrol station and pay. These great advantages would probably have been largely disregarded by people, if it weren't for Iraq....truly amazes me :
If it's a "political agenda" to want to live more efficiently and try and have a small footprint on the environment in which we live, then I'm all for that political agenda....I would hardly call this a political issue though. Every day the world population increases by 200 000 individuals.....it's about resources and finding ways fast to best use those resources.
Would it be in our best interest to see that China won't continue to build one coal plant every week? The main cause of death in China is already caused by pollution and by 2009 they will emit more CO2 than the US, a decade earlier than anticipated. So even if there won't be a national security problem with China like there is with the Middle East, wouldn't it still be in the interest of already developed nations to encourage and develop newer and cleaner techonologies, even if they are at first more expensive?
You can call these concerns "hysteria", but if we don't start doing something about it NOW, it will be too late when we are 9 billion people....who will want computers, cars, mopeds, air conditioning, hot water......so yes, these are urgent issues.