Sir, The recession could have provided a boost to the market for clean and frugal personal transport, but even the promise of multimillion-pound government funding, and the prediction this week by the Committee on Climate Change that by 2020 four in ten cars would be powered by alternative fuel may not be enough to save our fledgeling electric car industry from collapse (report, Dec 4).

The success of a coalition of car-producing nations, including Britain, in watering down and delaying EU targets and fines relating to CO2 emissions from new vehicles this week is a big stumbling block for an electric car market trading predominately on its environmental credentials. Even the recent climbdown over emissions-based vehicle excise duty did little to promote the alternatives to fossil fuels. It does seem as though the cards are stacked against the electric car.

Andrew Davis

Director, the Environmental Transport Association

Sir, The Government’s decision to delay its verdict on the expansion of Heathrow is most welcome (report, Dec 4). In January it must do the right thing and drop the proposal altogether. I write from the UN Climate Change Conference in Poland, where the UK is fêted as a world leader on the issue. This credibility gives us great influence over the talks, even from within our EU negotiating bloc. Last week the Government passed the most progressive piece of climate legislation in history. Now the world is waiting to see what it will do next. If we press ahead with a third runway at Heathrow, and new coal-fired power at Kingsnorth, we tell other countries that when it comes to climate change, it is sufficient simply to “talk the talk”. The UK must set a strong example by acting with the same moral clarity embodied in the words of the Climate Change Bill.

Malachi Chadwick

UK Youth Delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference 2008

Sir, Pauline Neale says that new technology exists to minimise carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations (letter, Dec 3). It does — but it needs to be proven on a commercial scale. Numerous projects to do this are being implemented across the world, but it will take until the middle of the next decade to prove the technology. In the meantime, we cannot wait. By the end of 2015 8GW of coal-fired plant and 3GW of oil-fired plant will have to close over environmental constraints, including the existing Kingsnorth station. Over the same period 5GW of nuclear plant will close at the end of its life. Tougher environmental constraints apply from 2016, and further closures of coal-fired plant may well then occur. What will fill the gap? There will be no nuclear power by 2016 — too early. Renewables and energy efficiency will have some impact but nothing like enough.

If there is no new coal, then the gap will be filled by gas, and we will become 50 per cent dependent on gas overall for our electricity. We will also be building up high carbon emissions from gas, and will stand no chance of reaching the 80 per cent reduction required by 2050. We need some new coal now. The Kingsnorth proposal will reduce carbon emissions by more than 30 per cent and will be “carbon-capture ready” so the technology can be retrofitted once proven on a commercial scale.

David Brewer

Director General, Confederation of UK Coal Producers

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