So little clue about the realities of energy

I WAS shocked by Ian L Handford’s recent opinion piece. In the same week that the IPCC said we have to act on climate ‘now of never’ and the UN and the IPCC report is ‘a damning indictment of failed global leadership on climate’ he maintains Net Zero is ‘unrealistic’ and ‘ridiculous’ and lauds the opinions of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group and the Net Zero Watch report which was published earlier this month.

Richard Black, an honorary research fellow at Imperial

College London and a former BBC environment correspondent, said of the report: “The utter incoherence of Net Zero Watch’s ‘plan’ is really something.” And he said of Craig McKinlay MP, a member of the

Net Zero Scrutiny Group who very publicly came out in support of the report: “It’s faintly shaming on the nation that any MP would have so little clue about the realities of energy, and be so unaware of his own ignorance, as to put his name to this.”

The Ukraine war provides an impetus toward Net Zero, not to slow it down. Decarbonisation is the way to bring prices down, to make the UK energy independent and to free ourselves from Putin. It is doable if the 10% of high earners who produce 50% of all emissions cut down their heavy use of fossil fuels to maintain their extravagant lifestyles.

Mr Handford argues to continue expensive gas and deepen dependence on it. That will make the situation worse, not better.

Nuclear is a difficult cost/benefit analysis, but there is no excuse for the lack of action on home insulation and cutting energy demand in other ways. This can be implemented now. It is a no-brainer that if we can use less energy we are in a much stronger position.

Simon Smith Buckfast, Devon