‘It’s madness – we need coherent policy and action’

A LABOUR government throws Putin money for fossil fuels so he can continue his war in Ukraine.

The Tory/Reform response? Predictably, they happy-hug Trump’s doomsday ‘Drill baby Drill’ philosophy. Forget carbon emissions. Savour those sweet exhaust fumes!

Ed Miliband, to his credit, is working to expand renewables, reduce UK dependence on foreign oil, and improve energy security. Why is his own government not working with him?

Fossil fuels cost us all a fortune. The OECD found £26.7 billion in UK fossil subsidies and support in 2023, including £14 billion for gas. The IMF identified £13.7 billion in “explicit” UK fossil fuel subsidies in 2022, relating to undercharging for fossil fuel supply cost, especially gas.

Those figures don’t include the health impacts or environmental costs: pollution, habitat loss, acid rain, climate change.

And, to cap it all … the government fails to use off-peak off-shore wind power. Last year wind power companies received £350 million to switch off their turbines at night (instead of storing the energy for the next day), and gas companies received £1 billion to produce the electricity that could have come free overnight from the wind turbines.

It’s madness. Coherent policy and action please!

Christian Vassie

Blake Court,

Wheldrake, York

…LOYALTY to one’s nation within the Labour Party appears to be in very short supply, particularly from those in charge.

Accepting we require a constant supply of oil to exist, they prefer to accept this necessity from Russia when abundant resources are available from our own off shore oil fields, this makes no logical sense whatsoever unless you secretly prefer Kremlin’s ideology to ours.

Peter Rickaby,

Moat Way,

Brayton

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