Letters: The futility of net zero

Not zero

Sir: I was delighted to see your leading article about the impossibility of net zero (‘Carbon candour’, 22 March). We need now to expose its futility. The UK’s efforts will make no difference at all to global temperature. Whether it is naturally occurring or produced through coal burning, there is not the slightest chance of stopping the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (not ‘carbon’, which is nasty black stuff).

Guy Liardet

Meonstoke, Hampshire

Ideological bullets

Sir: ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you’, they say. But by biting the hand of business with her Budget, Rachel Reeves has shown total recklessness (‘The Rachel capers’, 22 March). By killing growth, she is now paying the heavy price for this both economically and politically. It was intriguing to see the very measured former governor of the Bank of England (and Reeves’s former boss), Mervyn King, being interviewed by Sophy Ridge on Sky News about her mistakes. His conclusion was that she lacked experience of economic policy and a plan for the parliament. During 14 years of opposition, Labour could have really developed an idea for their economic policy. Instead, it appears they are just shooting from the hip with ideological bullets that end up hitting the wrong targets, killing large sectors of the economy and injuring many of the most vulnerable in society. As they now reload with the Spring Statement, it seems more people will need to take cover.

Andrew Haynes

London SW6