Cost of going green
SIR – The Government wants to reduce Britain’s carbon emissions significantly by 2050. For householders, this means replacing gas boilers with either a heat pump or a hydrogen-powered boiler.
I do not believe that running volatile hydrogen to all homes is a practical proposition in the medium term, so we are left with heat pumps. These are eye-wateringly expensive: besides the upfront cost, there are costs relating to design, surveys and installation. In my case, the total outlay was £16,562.
I also have an electric vehicle, so needed an at-home charger, which cost £945 (after a government grant). Add my solar array and battery storage device and the cost of such a linked-in system runs to £30,000 to make a real difference.
My solar panels are Chinese, my heat pump is German and the storage battery is American.
If the Government is serious about reducing domestic carbon emissions, it needs to be honest about the costs. It should also incentivise British production of the necessary components to reduce these costs.
There is much to do – and 2050 is really not that far away. Steve Oakley
Epsom Downs, Surrey
SIR – Britain is spending a lot of money to reduce its comparatively small carbon emissions.
The world’s 20 biggest polluters account for four fifths of global discharges, and many are emerging economies. China is responsible for a quarter of all global emissions, and its proposals for cutting them, impressive on first reading, will actually see it producing more by 2030.
Britain is hosting the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this autumn. Surely its main objective should be to persuade the biggest polluters (and particularly China) to take meaningful action. Will this be possible? Christopher Robson
Bedale, North Yorkshire
SIR – I notice that acquaintances concerned about climate change become less chummy when I mention that feeding their average-size pet dog emits more than a ton of greenhouse gases a year.
Should these pets not be taxed on that account? Anthony Greenstreet
Camberley, Surrey