Fuelling poverty

I welcome the focus of John Sturrock (Letters, 3 November) on the importance of compassion in shaping policies in response to concerns about CO2 emissions.

However, the policies driven by the current Climate Change Acts are hitting the poorest in the world hardest.

As an example, taking agricultural land out of food production to grow biofuels, a policy supported by generous subsidies, has had the effect of driving up the cost of staple foods across the world. That may not be life-threatening in the UK but it is so for many of the poorest in the world.

Further, most renewables are relatively inefficient and expensive in producing energy.

Whether through added costs to goods and services or as a premium on fuel bills, that inefficiency and expense is a disproportionate burden on the poor in the UK for whom energy contributes a larger proportion of household bills.

Quite apart from such ethical arguments, examination of the scientific literature on which the Climate Change Acts are based shows a level of uncertainty about the impact of CO2 rather greater than some have tried to claim.

That is underlined by the failure of events to match up to confident predictions. Such has been the case with the recent flat-
lining of global temperatures for 18 years.

(Cllr) Cameron Rose

City Chambers

Edinburgh