Global warming? World will act only when it's forced to

It plays right into the hands of the sceptics '“ global warming, what global warming? You're out of your mind!

But global warming is happening and there's no doubt that people are the cause.

We've got more carbon dioxide in the air now than for millions of years, and it started rising soon after the start of the industrial revolution and the human race discovered energy from coal.

But trying to get more than 100 nations to agree on anything meaningful to combat it is near impossible.

The wrangling will go on until it happens through sheer necessity.

At one end of the scale you've got America consuming more energy and polluting more of the planet than many other nations put together, and not prepared to give up one jot of their wealth or lifestyle.

Then you have some developing nations who are true to form, expecting huge handouts from the wealthy ones before they will do anything '“ and we all know whether the cash will end up.

Then there's Britain, trying to score points in saying it's prepared to massive cuts in emissions, doing what politicians are good at '“ promising a lot and delivering little.

All the time, behind the scenes UK politicians rub their hands in glee looking at global warming as an excuse to raise taxes.

UK green taxes are now, according to estimates, a staggering 26.4 billion, with this government taxing us dry on the altar of our carbon emissions.

These taxes are now imposing a huge burden on families and firms, and particularly hitting people on low and middle incomes who are spending more of the share of income on electricity and fuel as prices are pushed ever higher by green taxes and regulations.

It's no wonder the British public are cynical whenever they hear our politicians talk about global warming and ways to tackle it.

Because past experience has shown it's more about raising more tax than tackling the problem.

What's needed are many more sticks and carrots to get us thinking about and reacting to the global warming problem. Here are a few ideas:

* Drastically raising excise duty, year on year, for any form of Chelsea tractor and large 4x4, but at the same time reduce tax on small economy/electric and ultra low emission vehicles.

* Drastically reduce train and bus fares, while at the same time raise petrol and diesel duty.

* Remove VAT from any work in homes and industrial property which will improve energy efficiency.

* Cut much of the daily school run by removing choice from parents. Children go to the school nearest where they live.

* Move to 100 per cent recycling or use of waste for heating, etc., within five years, ending all land-fill.

* Building many more wind farms and removing the right of objection on "environmental or aesthetic'' grounds (environmentalists can't have it both ways).

* Investigate ways of using tidal flows in the Channel, and the Bristol Channel, to create tidal energy.

* Restrict the importation of unnecessary goods or impose an import tax on all goods which can (and should) be made in the UK.

* Make it an offence for any shop to keep its doors open when the outside temperature falls below 50 degrees F.

* Do everything possible to encourage people to live close to their place of work to reduce commuting.

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