AS COP26 comes to an end the fine words of Boris Johnson and his sleaze ridden Tory government are again suspect. With the prospect of opening another oil field, a possible coal mine and cutting air travel taxes, the UK shows little understanding of the growing climate crisis.
Meanwhile, in a typical Tory budget of, give with one hand and take back more with the other, Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s performance was outstanding. This personable and highly intelligent multimillionaire, has greatly enhanced his premiership ambition!
READ MORE: Boris Johnson coming back to Glasgow as he runs away from sleaze-hit Westminster
However, the statement that the budget would “strengthen the Union”, could leave millions of Scottish families worse off and undermine the devolution settlement. With the Tory “One Nation” concept, the rise of the “four nations” or as Boris prefers “the fab four”, would be shelved. Indeed the continuance of the devolved parliaments, far less independence, would be in conflict with keeping the Union together in a failed Brexit Britain.
Grant Frazer
Newtonmore
OF all the many images of COP26 one has remained in my memory. It was of a young man holding a makeshift cardboard sign with a slogan painted on it opposing the development of the Cambo oil field.
It is a long time since I was near his age. I will not see the final results of global warming. It sadly will be the legacy my generation will leave for his.
I could not see the surface he was standing on but there is a very good chance it was a tar macadam one. I could not see his footwear but I would not be surprised if it consisted of training shoes composed of a high proportion of plastic. I suspect his jeans, shirt, socks and probably underwear were composed of cotton. The cotton plant is unfortunately not native to Scotland and no doubt the cotton arrived here transported by a diesel or oil powered ship, via a factory in the mainly coal fired developing world.
The wood pulp for his sign also probably arrived by ship. Its transformation into cardboard surely involved fossil fuel. There is a good chance the paint he used to write his slogan on the cardboard was oil based. There is a chance he headed home via a diesel train.
Given the West of Scotland winter weather, when home he may have welcomed the warmth of a gas powered central heating system and a plate of soup heated on his family’s gas cooker.
So life is sometimes a bit more complicated than it seems, but in essence oil and gas are complex, valuable and multi use commodities. Oil is not just burnt as petrol or diesel in motor cars.
The UK produces about 1% of the world’s CO2, Scotland less than a tenth of that. No doubt every little helps, but even if the entire extractable contents of the Cambo field were burnt it would make little difference to total global CO2 emissions.
To address the problems of global warming we have to look at the main polluters. We have to look first at the coal fired power stations of China, the coal mines of Australia and the state sponsored madness of Brazil’ s race to destroy the Amazon rain forest. A race now accelerated by the target to end deforestation by 2030 set at COP26, gifting Brazil nine years to complete the destruction.
READ MORE: Draft COP26 outcome calls for countries to strengthen climate action in 2022
In the coming winter Scotland’s population faces massive rises in the price of petrol, oil, gas and electricity, under the dubious guise of global shortages and increases in wholesale prices. Ground and air source pumps are currently beyond the financial reach of the majority of consumers and mainly unpractical for flat dwellers. Scotland simply leaving its remaining oil and gas resources in the ground is not the answer to what is a very complex question.
Another rather complex and interesting question our politicians should urgently consider is why does the price of electricity generated by our wind and waves increase?
Brian Lawson
Paisley
BARACK Obama’s speech that sparked the Scottish indyref2 row (Barack Obama sparks indyref2 row with ‘nationalism’ comments at COP26, Nov 9) was made at COP26 hosted by the UK Government in Glasgow.
Unionists should realise that he was speaking in the UK where international cooperation has waned almost to the point of extinction. British nationalism and tribalism, in the guise of taking back control and halting immigration have been the driving forces behind Brexit.
READ MORE: Barack Obama sparks indyref2 row with 'nationalism' comments at COP26
Barack Obama will not have forgotten that Boris Johnson was Donald Trump’s best friend. International protocol probably limits the former US president from going beyond what he said and naming names; perhaps his Emerald Isle is a subtle reference to the green and pleasant land in England’s national anthem and Shakespeare the bard of the country that equates itself with Britain and all things British.
Maybe the ex president’s so called gaffe was in fact the sting in the tail.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
ROLLS Royce, the plane engine maker, have just won a substantial Government grant as part of a consortium including BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels) of around £200 million, to develop a small nuclear power plant, capable of powering a city the size of Leeds, a population just under a million.
With COP26 still high in the media and any and all options for power being investigated, particularly for base load electricity production, Rolls Royce are touting their small fission reactors – which were developed for marine power sources for submarines, aircraft carriers and icebreakers – where refuelling is an undesirable activity.
To say I am concerned that Tayside may inherit it’s own Nuclear Power plant, is an understatement.
Alistair Ballantyne
Birkhill, Angus
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