Letters | 20 June 2019

Eco opportunity

Sir: As a North Sea oil engineer now working on the UK’s ‘green’ energy transition, I believe Ross Clark (‘Greener than thou’, 15 June) raised many valid points but missed out on the major opportunities for the UK economy.

Irrespective of what we believe to be the extent of climate change, other key factors are changing rapidly. Who will want to drive their own petrol car when they can summon an autonomous vehicle at the click of an app? And with the global population rising, the total energy demand continues to soar. In the UK, leaps in technology have led to major investment and seen energy generation costs tumble in the past decade. We are now world number one in offshore windpower generation, and the latest round of windfarms are almost subsidy-free. A similar level of backing to the hydrogen economy would balance out intermittent renewable power, and offer cleaner transportation as a natural partner to electric vehicles.

As domestic oil and gas reserves decline, our import dependence is set to increase. What better way to insulate ourselves from global political turbulence than to meet more of our own energy needs? Much of the global population suffers from a lack of affordable, reliable energy. Should the UK become an early leader in this field, the export opportunities are immense. A switch to renewables needn’t be a ‘cave in’ to Extinction Rebellion or Greta Thunberg: handled sensibly, it’s sound Conservatism.
Sanjoy Sen

London NW6

Returning to normal?

Sir: Ross Clark reports and laments the way Conservative politicians have, seemingly blindly, adopted climate change policies. The reason, I believe, is that there is nobody senior in the party who has the scientific knowledge and background to make an independent judgment. As a result, they have treated it as just another political issue.