UK politicians and the green brigade are determined to force Net Zero 2050 on the population by prohibitions, bans and restrictions.
People will not be able to buy the car they want, cook and heat their home with gas, or eat as much meat as they want. There are even suggestions that people should only be allowed to go abroad on holiday every three years. Smart meters will become compulsory so that in times of electricity shortage supplies can be cut to targeted areas.
Fiction? This week the UK Government's controversial Energy Bill was debated in Parliament. It provides for the "creation of criminal offences" where there is "non-compliance with a requirement imposed by or under energy performance regulations". Those who fail to comply with new energy efficiency rules could face prison.
Meanwhile China, India and numerous other countries responsible for 70 per cent of global emissions are ramping up their coal, gas and oil consumption and breaking their COP promises. And here was us thinking that George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four warning against totalitarianism was a work of fiction.
Clark Cross, Linlithgow.
Divorced from reality
HOW far the net zero virus has spread through governance was revealed on Tuesday when the Energy Bill received its third reading with little dissent. We know already that the Government and the devolved assemblies back legislation to ban gas and oil boilers, coal fires and petrol and diesel vehicles but this bill goes much further even than that.
The bill will make it a criminal offence if you sell your home or let a property if it does not comply with "energy performance regulations". If found guilty you may be fined up to £15,000 or imprisoned "for a term exceeding 12 months". The bill also provides for the compulsory entry of enforcement officers into your home.
The Government intends that all domestic large appliances - washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers - must be "smart". These will all be under "central control" as will electric heating (heat pumps). This means that the controllers will be able to decide when and for how long you use your appliances or central heating. (This can be traced back to EU Directive 2009/72/EU on the "need" for "smart grids".) Members of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Conservative MPs did try to bring amendments to stop these outrageous measures but with no success, and few were called. Labour's Ed Miliband was called, however, and proposed that the total decarbonisation of the Grid should be brought forward to 2030. This shows what we could expect under a Labour government - total energy insecurity. As I write, with demand for electricity subdued at 33GW, gas is supplying 43% of Britain's electricity, and the 12,000 onshore and offshore wind machines 8%.
Politicians have proved that net zero really is a cult divorced from reality.
William Loneskie, Lauder.
Read more: Stop shaming us into paying a fortune to go green
• IN my letter regarding air source heat pumps (August 27) I stated that I needed an upgrade to my electricity supply as the air source heat pump would require an additional 45 kW of power. This was a typing error and should have read 45 amps. Quite different but nevertheless, still meant that I needed an upgrade to my supply.
The rest of my letter stands and the bottom line is that my well-insulated and modernised property is not suitable to have an air source heat pump installed to provide heating and hot water. Unfortunately, this is the same for a large proportion - if not the majority - of the current housing stock in Scotland.
As I said in my previous letter, promoting policies for the installation of air source heat pumps into all domestic properties in Scotland are simply not practical.
Tom Cassells, Ayr.
So how close are we?
AS rural communities and the countryside come under increasing pressure from wind farm developers who are enjoying a free-for-all destroying Scotland's best asset, its unique landscape, can anyone actually tell us in percentage terms our current progress towards net zero?
I have emailed the Government but have received no reply.
Alison Jarman, Chesters, Roxburghshire.
Why so slow to act?
THE revelation that more than 30 school buildings in Scotland have been found to contain the potentially dangerous Raac concrete is a worrying development. Hopefully the problem is relatively isolated and remedial work can be carried out with minimum impact on pupils' schooling.
However, since this type of cheaper concrete has been suspected of being hazardous since the 1990s and the Fire Service gave renewed warnings about it over a year ago, one must ask why it's taken until now before decisive government action has been undertaken.
Both central government and local authorities must share responsibility but with the Scottish Government reducing the cash it gives to councils over the years, local services must inevitably suffer.
Humza Yousaf's estimation that it may take months to fully assess the extent of the problem is hardly reassuring and points to a panicked approach to an issue which could have been handled much quicker and better.
Bob MacDougall, Kippen.
Wifi poor? Send for Alister Jack
I FOUND Caroline Wilson's article about Cairngorms National Park both interesting and informative ("With plans for a third national park in Scotland, what has changed in the two decades since Britain’s biggest and wildest national park was established?", September 3) I was particularly interested in the comment that “access to good, fast and reliable internet in the park is still unavailable for many people”.
I have written about this before, but I think it is worth reminding readers that telecommunications, which covers internet, broadband, mobile phone signals and so on, is the responsibility of the Westminster Government. It would have been interesting if Ms Wilson had asked Alister Jack, who is responsible for implementation of the policy in Scotland, for a comment.
Douglas Morton, Lanark.
Youaf will not be FM for long
HUMZA Yousaf inherited more than just a job when he was elected leader of the SNP, innocent of the massive problems left behind by Nicola Sturgeon that are guaranteed to end his short career as First Minister.
The SNP is heading downwards fast in a steep slope of self-destruction and there is nothing he can do to stop the party imploding.
Funds have now all but dried up, leaving the party in a desperate state with only the Greens as the overall winners.
Scotland urgently needs change and a good government to restore the economy and bring back confidence and the time is right for the electorate to usher in the opposition parties to take back control.
Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.
Read more: Stop blaming the politicians for the bad choices we make in our lives
Don't stigmatise hospitality
THE Herald and other media are correct to bring to the public’s attention the issues and concerns regarding alcohol abuse and drug misuse as a direct cause of death in Scotland, as seen in the latest annual statistics.
These latest figures make for stark reading and it is the view of the SLTA (Scottish Licensed Trade Association) that alcohol prevention groups, health services, government, and businesses operating in the licensed hospitality and retail sectors should sit down together to discuss the best way forward to resolve these issues.
Regrettably, a complete disassociation with the alcohol industry has been the course taken by health groups and government over the last few years. The regular partnership working with government, the health sector and with the industry, through groups such as the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), and the then Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership Group (SGAIP), which the Scottish Licensed Trade Association was part of, has now sadly been lost.
Responsible hospitality operators do not encourage irresponsible drinking and instead provide a safe, social and controlled environment for people to drink alcohol should they so wish. Indeed, pubs nowadays offer a great deal more than just alcohol products, with food, tea and coffee, and a wide range of non-alcoholic options on offer. There are also many low-alcohol products available.
However, what also concerns the SLTA is that news outlets typically illustrate this type of coverage with images that show people in a pub or restaurant environment. This is hugely misleading as it gives the impression that Scotland’s problem with alcohol is directly related to people drinking excessively in pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants.
Not only is this unfair and a great disservice to the responsible hospitality operators in the on-trade sector, it fails to recognise that around 80% of the alcohol purchased in Scotland is via the off-trade, with the overwhelming majority of that through supermarkets, for people to drink in the uncontrolled environment of the home.
Can we respectfully request that the media, including this newspaper, consider their choice of photographs to accompany articles such as those recently regarding alcohol abuse and drug misuse as a direct cause of death in Scotland? It is unfair to suggest that the root of the problem always lies at the door of the on-trade hospitality sector.
Colin Wilkinson, Managing Director, SLTA, Edinburgh.
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