Emissions issue

Until Holyrood can sort out the economics of a zero emission policy then Richard Leonard, MSP, can rest happy that there will be no Indyref2, since the proposed ban on gas would result in a tripling of energy bills and a 25 per cent hit to the NHS budget in an independent Scotland.

An £18 billion increase in energy costs and a £120bn infrastructure debt (plus interest charges) means Scots are dependent on the 92 per cent subsidy provided by English consumers until the debt has been repaid over the next 25 years.

There is also the hundreds of billions of pounds required to install a fourfold increase in the electricity supply system to provide the energy to recharge millions of electric vehicles.

The Labour leader should note these costs would prohibit the “building up of substantial foreign exchange reserves” he demanded (The Scotsman, 7 March) for a further 25 years until all renewable debts were cleared,

IAN MOIR

Queen Street, Castle Douglas

The news that the Greenland ice cap is melting at an unprecedented rate because of frequent instances of rainfall in winter is shocking.

The rain brings soot and algae, which darken the glacier surface and accelerate its

demise. This is a positive feedback phenomenon exactly like moving a microphone slowly forward in front of a line of

loudspeakers, except that in this case it’s done by burning fossil fuels.

The Americans have known this would happen all along. Three decades ago their military were instructed where to buy houses to avoid flooding.

Al Gore was right with a vengeance, but was rubbished so that the Chinese economy could be effectively sabotaged by conning them into using “cheap coal”.

Donald Trump was, of course, gloating with pride when he said: “The Chinese told me that man-made global warming was a hoax.”

HENRYK BELDA

Kirkton Bank, Penicuik