IN the rush by politicians to be "seen to be green" it is the taxpayer and the motorist who suffer. Thinking that the UK's electric cars can save the planet is laughable when there are 1.2 billion petrol/diesel vehicles in the world. Looking through their green-tinted glasses local authorities and government departments have rushed to install expensive charging points for electric vehicles and the majority provide this electricity free of charge. Why should the taxpayers who cannot afford a new car, far less an electric one, pay?

Any government worth its salt would have put the burden for the installation network costs on to the companies which manufacturer electric vehicles perhaps as a charge (no pun intended) for every car sold. Someone who can afford an electric car, often just to parade their green credentials, should pay a "connection" levy. Those who buy an expensive electric vehicle get a government grant of up to £4,500. This "green" discrimination should be stopped immediately.

Clark Cross,

138 Springfield Road,

Linlithgow.

LIKE many others, correspondent Walter Attwood (Letters, March 19) lauds the pupils who withdrew their attendance from classes in order to protest against the exploitation of fossil fuels, which they believe are driving climate change.

However, climate change has probably been a feature of our world since shortly after its creation, and about 10,000 years ago, an episode of global warming resulted in the British Isles becoming cut off from the European mainland. At that time, the human race was present in tiny numbers, hanging onto its ecological niche by the tips of its fingers, whilst large herds of herbivores roamed over grasslands and tundra; there was scarcely a factory or motor vehicle in sight.

There are perfectly valid reasons for pressing ahead with the design and production of more fuel-efficient/less-polluting means of transport and power provision, better insulation of domestic and commercial properties and the like, but it will count for little if much climate change is driven by factors completely outwith our control.

Christopher W Ide,

25 Riverside Road,

Waterfoot,

East Renfrewshire.

WALTER Attwood applauds students for striking to stop the climate changing.

A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production suggests that emissions from smartphones and other mobile devices is approaching 125 million tonnes annually. That is equal to Belgium.

The Paris Agreement stated that if we don't drastically cut emissions by 2020 then it will be impossible to meet the warming target, so can I suggest that everyone give up their smart phones immediately, as a start?

Geoff Moore,

Braeface Park,

Alness.