Climate zealotry

HERE we go again. Swathes of central London brought to a halt by ‘Extinction Rebellion’ and the police doing precious little to stop them. However much one may share their concerns over melting ice caps and rising sea levels, the demands of these climatechange zealots are patently unrealistic.

They want net zero carbon emissions by 2025 and a ‘citizens’ assembly’ to oversee the changes. This would require all gas boilers to be converted to electricity and petrol cars to be phased out within five years.

Around 16,500 new wind turbines would be needed along with a radical change in people’s diet, replacing meat and dairy with plant-based foods.

In fact, Britain has an excellent record on combating climate change, and has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. This target may be brought forward – but not by 25 years. That would mean plunging Britain back into the pre-industrial age, with all the poverty and hardship that would bring.

As for a citizens’ assembly, we already have one. It’s called Parliament. THE Nobel prize for medicine given to Oxford professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe proves once again that our great research centres lead the world in cutting edge technologies. With Brexit on the horizon it’s also a timely reminder that they must retain the Government funding and support to keep up that proud record.