RE: Achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050

RICHARD Drax, in his column of September 17 is right to remind us that this will be a challenging target. Having outlined some of the challenges, like providing accessible charging points for some 14 million electric vehicles by 2030, he suggests that the costs of current plans will impoverish us and damage our economy.

There is no mention of the greater costs, in terms of an escalating climate crisis. His justification for rejecting this “unrealistic burden of £ 1 trillion over 30 years” is that the UK currently emits 1% of global CO2, compared to China 25%, USA 15% and India 7%.

However, if you compare cumulative emissions since the Industrial Revolution, the figures are China 10%, USA 26%, India 3% and UK 5%. These are what have caused the present level of global warming.

We now outsource a high proportion of our manufacturing to China and India and so appear to be responsible for a lower percentage of world CO2 emissions than we used to be. At COP26 all countries should agree further binding CO2 reduction targets. We can achieve these targets by a mixture of new technologies, such as electric vehicles, solar and wind power, as well as personal and political decisions as to how we live our lives. We can choose a green future or one that descends further into climate chaos.

John Tomblin

Weymouth