Begging to differ

More than 9,000 officials and activists have gathered for a two-week UN climate conference in Lima, Peru hoping to get all countries to agree their emission reductions targets to take to Paris next year.

The delegates, so besotted by their quasi-religious beliefs, are proposing that richer nations should pay poor countries $100 billion a year from 2020 to protect them from global warming.

Britain, despite having only 1.5 per cent of global emissions, foolishly passed the Climate Change Act, burdening taxpayers with £1.3 trillion for this fruitless vanity project. Other countries refused to sign legally-binding agreements.

Recent headlines: Germany is building 30 new coal-fired power stations and will import a near record 50 million tonnes of coal in 2014. India will not sign any deal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions that threatens its growth or undermines its fight against poverty. Japan’s emissions have hit a record high. Mr Obama boasted that he had secured an emissions deal with China, but China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, actually said it will let emissions soar until 2030 and, in a direct challenge, called on industrialised nations to accelerate the $100bn climate-related aid.

The climate-change begging bowl is out.

Clark Cross

Springfield Road

Linlithgow