From Chris Frost.
AS my old dad used to say: ‘If you put your head above the parapet son, don’t be shocked if someone takes a pot shot at you.’
So, it came as no surprise that following my published letters criticising the government’s farcical carbon-neutral plans and the ridiculous proposed e-bike lottery that some of the vested interests would come to the aid of the beleaguered Assistant Environment Minister Hilary Jeune, who has political responsibility for energy and climate change.
Firstly, to set the record straight, David Postlethwaite’s letter (JEP 20 January) characterises me as having an ‘anti-cycling agenda’. I have been a cyclist for over 60 years – competitively, recreationally and as a commuter. I have certainly covered many more thousands of miles on a bike than the aforementioned sustainability professional Mr Postlethwaite.
It shows he has a very limited grasp of the point I was making. Which was: stop wasting public money that will achieve nothing on the carbon-neutral front but might make the self-aggrandisement of those involved a little greater. His assertion that the government wanted ‘more bang for their buck’ belies the true agenda here. It is more about the politicians being noticed than any benefits accruing from their pointless vanity projects.
The notion that funds have been ‘ring fenced’ for the purposes of solving the ‘climate emergency’ is laughable. It is still taxpayer money and those spending it need to be held accountable, especially with the current state of the economy.
We seem to be surrounded by financial illiterates, many of whom work in the world’s finance industry and who think you can spend your way out of every crisis, real or imagined. The collective wisdom of those who think we can alter the earth’s climate by spending on these futile gestures is going to send us all down Carey Street.
Before lobbing rocks in my direction, Mr Postlethwaite should realise the glass house he is standing in. There is no sustainability if we do not have financial sustainability.
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