To save the planet, fossil fuels need to stay underground | Letters

Readers give their views on what needs to be done to combat climate disaster and save the planet

Fiona Harvey is surely right when she says "adaptation alone won't save us from climate disaster" (Journal, 12 September). She gives an apt metaphor that adaptation "while continuing to burn fossil fuels is like trying to mop up an overflowing sink while the taps are still running", but she still talks of mechanisms for "better economic growth".

Political leaders worldwide need to recognise the causal connection between economic growth and global heating, manifest in fossil fuel consumption. To save the planet, fossil fuels need to stay underground - unused by the greed of humankind. Our energy must come from wind, wave, hydraulic and solar sources, but this will be insufficient to maintain many of our industries and, consequently, many jobs will be lost.

Continue reading...