The volume of carbon trading has fallen heavily since the 2009 Copenhagen agreement, and market participants are advocating radical steps to revive the market.

Tighter bank financing, falling government subsidies and rising US shale gas production are all putting the squeeze on the renewable energy industry.

The worst of the liquidity squeeze on eurozone banks has eased conditions for commodities finance during 2012, but the business still faces significant challenges.

Private equity firms have cultivated greater interest in renewable energy during the past few years and with many governments paying more attention to renewables, offering subsidies to encourage investment in the sector, it appears their timing could not have been better. But can the pace of growth be maintained?

The accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami has led many countries to slow down or cease their nuclear energy programmes.

Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, believes the UK's policy-makers and financiers fail to support its promising low-carbon sector. The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, which he heads, is working to change that.

The UN climate meeting in Cancun was widely viewed as being more productive than the 2009 event in Copenhagen, but many in the carbon trading markets came away feeling that too little had been achieved.

Chandran Nair, founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow, argues that Asia should instead be brave in imposing limits on the exploitation of resources.