The UK’s investment in renewable energy is slowing down at the wrong time - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Marianne Segev, Exeter, Devon.

It’s official. The UK’s investment in renewable energy is slowing down just when the rest of the developed world is speeding up.

The latest government figures show that our growth in renewable investment is less than half of the global average.

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Is that because other countries are looking up to us as environmental leaders? Not now that we are chasing oil and gas and if you look at the countries making the biggest investments, like China, it is clearly economics.

A house with solar panels fitted to its roof. PIC: PA Photo/ThinkstockphotosA house with solar panels fitted to its roof. PIC: PA Photo/Thinkstockphotos
A house with solar panels fitted to its roof. PIC: PA Photo/Thinkstockphotos

Neither is it because we are maxed out; there are many successful countries with a greater share of renewable energy production than us. We still have a lot to gain in terms of cheaper supply, cleaner air and green jobs.

The government's pathetic response is “we are glad to see that nations across Europe and the rest of the world are starting to catch up” which shows an appalling lack of ambition.

Why are we giving up now? Wind and solar energy are far more efficient today than they were when we could make a claim to be leaders.

Energy saving measures, like home insulation, are no-brainers but we are not even making new homes future-proof.The current leadership has descended into cheap headlines and has no strategies.