Unless the UK stops investing in the polluting aviation industry, humanity will continue to be on ‘code red’

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Aviation is one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide (Reuters)

As if our world couldn’t get any more dystopian, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warns us that the cold hard facts in the latest report from the IPCC mean we are on “code red for humanity”. If we do not bring carbon emissions under control, we stand on the brink of global heating so extreme that society as we know it is at risk of complete collapse.

But it seems that the UK government failed to get the apocalyptic memo. The release of Jet Zero – its latest aviation strategy – completely ignores the advice of its own climate experts, the Climate Change Commission.

The CCC has told the government that emissions must be brought down urgently – by limiting demand and preventing further airport expansion.  But the government has chosen to put all its eggs in the basket of unproven and quite frankly fantastical future technologies that could take decades to become usable at scale.

We cannot allow aviation emissions to grow further before they start to fall. For the sake of the world’s children, the government must stop indulging in this flight of fantasy while humanity is on code red. In order for the government to have any authority at the upcoming Cop26 global climate conference, we must stop expanding airports now.

Jess Fowle

Hebden Bridge

The end of life?

If we remain on our present trajectory of global warming, and unrestrained consumption of meat, deforestation, desertification, ocean acidification, droughts, floods, famines, wildfires, rising sea waters, then life will drastically vanish on earth.

Climate change, human rights, sustainable development, economic prosperity and gender equity are inexorably entwined. The apocalyptic inferno aglow with burning bushes is indelibly seared into our psyche.

It is our imperative duty to preserve the political, social, religious, economic and cultural rights of humans by mitigating the climate crisis for the sake of future generations.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London

Where there’s a will

We are now told that human activity is certainly contributing to the climate crisis. Half of the planet’s land area is occupied by our dwellings, agriculture and industry.

But the population is still growing at an alarming rate. Some governments still seem reluctant to take sufficient action to reduce their carbon footprint. It appears that, globally, there is not enough political or individual will to even pause global warming, let alone reverse it.

Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that humanity’s headlong rush towards extinction wipes us out before it’s too late for other species to survive.

Susan Alexander

Frampton Cotterell, South Gloucestershire

Action now

The time for discussion and debate is over. Now is the time for action!

The climate crisis is a different form of global pandemic – it is not going to go away. The current global weather extremes, creating warming, floods and fires, require action immediately.

Russia, China, and other countries have to get on board with the rest of the world, otherwise mankind, as we know it, will cease to exist.

Janine Hyatt

Address supplied

Covid unsafe Britain

I am in complete agreement with Simon Calder regarding the current Covid travel regulations, which seem to me designed more to promote the notion that we British are better than other nations than to be of any practical use.

We returned home on Friday from 10 days on the Costa del Sol, both of us double jabbed, lateral flow tests completed before returning and PCR tests taken the day after our return; all negative. Whilst in Spain we both felt perfectly safe as most Spanish people, even though they are no longer required to, continue to wear masks outdoors as well as inside.

The reason we returned on the Friday rather than extending our holiday was because we had tickets for a touring show at our local theatre which had been booked pre-lockdown and rearranged. I have never felt more unsafe since the start of the pandemic. Although the theatre staff wore masks there was no social distancing in the auditorium and we were in a minority of less than 5 per cent of the audience who wore masks.

I will continue to take my foreign holidays but won’t be going to the theatre again until things change.

Paul McDermott

Lichfield

Olympic waste of money

I would rather have more money in the exchequer’s coffers, preferably available for worthier causes, than have a large brace of medals at the Olympics. This attitude will obviously bring on an attack of the vapours for sports fans but it is a misuse of taxpayers money in my opinion.

Consider, it’s only when we throw huge amounts of money at it that we’re any good. How does that really prove that we’re any better than any other country? We just make more money available (that we don’t have) to give to improving sports facilities and access to training.

We shouldn’t be building ostentatious stadiums and funding sailing and javelin throwing and the like when far more pressing areas need funding.

Have the Olympics if you must every so often in Athens, and allow the participants to compete at an equal level in the traditional sporting endeavours, with modest funding where necessary.

Everything seems to be included now. Maybe I’d really excel at the 100-metre stroll or fastest deckchair assembly if it were a category. I’ll suggest it. Everything else seems to be there.

I can live without so many Olympic medals, and I think the nation would just about manage to cope as well.

Lynn Brymer

Woodchurch, Ashford, Kent