Brexit means UK is increasing its carbon footprint

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the opening session of the virtual global Leaders Summit on Climate from the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London. Picture date: Thursday April 22, 2021. - Credit: PA

So, Johnson is going to tell the rest of the world to sort out its carbon footprint and follow the UK’s brilliant example.

He of course is personally responsible for our major achievement in ensuring that more and more of the goods we need are sourced from countries much further away than the hugely successful single market on our doorstep, hence unnecessarily increasing our carbon emissions, whilst at the same time having approved a new coalmine in Cumbria, only to backtrack when he realised that might be a tad embarrassing ahead of the COP meeting. Expect approval once that is over, given the support for it from the local Tory MP. So much for our commitment to renewable energy.

One very obvious way to decrease home energy use is to make it compulsory for house builders to install solar panels on every new home and for warehouse erectors to do the same on the vast acreages of roof they present to the sky. When such self-evident solutions are staring him in the face, why are they not happening? Could there be some more vested interests at play? Is James Dyson about to produce a machine that hoovers up Singapore sunlight and re-directs it our way?

When hypocrisy meets sleaze, it’s a recipe for national shame. Why do so few people seem to care?

Anne Green

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