I HAVE just read a letter in the national press from Amber Rudd, the Energy Secretary. She says that the UK’s role in dealing with a warming planet we remain committed to dealing with climate change.

Bearing in mind that the UK’s global share of harmful emissions is 2% our role is miniscule – if we closed down every source of emissions it still leaves 98% and until major emitters, such as China and India take steps to reduce emissions we are whistling into the wind.

It is often suggested that by reducing emissions we could prevent the lights from going out but in the event of a major power shut down that would be the least of our problems – think of the banks, supermarkets and petrol stations, not to mention the pubs, all of which are dependent on electricity supply.

It is high time we recognised that England is a small country with a small share of most global matters and stopped trying to lead the world in areas in which we are a minor participant.

Geoffrey Richards, Ashton Road, Hilperton, Trowbridge