On the positive side, good old Skyscanner, return trips to Poland from £26:00...getting even cheaper!
Ooh nice, I need another trip to Krakow.
Rob - while countries like the USA, China, India continue to emit more than anyone else, there is no way climate change is going to be slowed down.
And while the people in the west continue to fund countries like China by buying the cheap crap from Temu, Shein and whole UK businesses continue to move industry out there to make even more profits, and while we are happy to have this crap imported by diesel powered ships daily then it ain’t gonna stop either.
If we in the west are really wanting to stop climate change, we need to totally change our buying habits. More focus on local products which are high quality, fixable and made by non polluting factories (and not made by child labour either).
I fact, I would love to see a tax on products based on various factors such as :
How they are made (factory green credentials, staff welfare)
The quality of the products used (source of products, ethics)
If the product has been made locally (ie how far has the product travelled to get here and by what means)
If the products can be fixed should they break
Product guarantee length
And how well the product can be recycled once it reaches the end of its lifespan.
Any products not meeting these requirements should be heavily taxed to encourage buyers to purchase products which are more sustainable and not live in this throw away culture. That should discourage people buying tat from Chinese companies (usually heavily subsidised by the CCP) and thus reduce the emissions from their factories as demand dries up.
We can bang on and try and make ourselves feel good by buying an EV, or having a heat pump fitted, but the reality is even if the UK did reach true net zero (at great expense) it won’t make a darn bit of difference to the global position.
It should also help reduce the funding going to their military in which they happily issues threats against the west but that’s a different topic.
Seeing Rachel Reeves over in China last week to try and cozy up to them even more despite their pollution, threats, and human rights records just shows how two faced we are in the west.
Edit: on the subject of tax….. so Labour are on about ramping up the tax on ICE cars, and on gas boilers. Instead of doing this, don’t they think it would be better to actually incentivise and help people get these things. Have a financial incentive to buy these items rather than tax those who can’t afford them. I’d like solar panels on the house but as we work we can’t get any financial help towards them, and I’m not paying the high price to have them fitted. Same with a heat pump. Same with an EV. Instead of punishing people who actually do want these items but can’t afford them, actually help them purchase them!