The Paris Climate Agreement has brought into focus David Cameron’s mixed messages.
The long-term requirement to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable sources of energy demands that the government starts now and re-thinks its short-term policy on fracking.
Current policy seems to be driven by economic considerations and winning votes in 2020, rather than promoting policies in tune with the Climate Agreement.
By phasing out subsidies to the solar industry rapidly rather than gradually, the government has been accused widely of destroying the solar industry just when it was beginning to grow significantly.
Interestingly, the Department of Energy and Climate Change gives little publicity to the huge direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies which run into billions of pounds.
Shale gas is a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming and must be kept in the ground.
If the government really started to show faith in renewable energy, investors would be encouraged to switch steadily to this sector, creating jobs in the process.
During the decades-long transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy some costs may rise, but this will be a small price to pay to save the planet from environmental destruction.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Neal
Hale
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