I never thought I would fear the summer, but now I do. This year I am grateful that we had a cool, wet summer. But next year? I will never be able to happily anticipate the season again. Instead, I will dread its heat – although not as much as those in unliveable places where lives are being destroyed by fire and floods. That is why Rishi Sunak’s dog-whistle weakening of already pitifully inadequate action on the climate emergency is despicable and deadly (Rishi Sunak announces U-turn on key green targets, 20 September).
I am one of those this policy change is designed to appeal to. The cost of living hits me hard and I live month to month. There’s no way I can replace my ageing hybrid with an electric car. A heat pump is an impossible dream even if I didn’t live in private rented accommodation. But this pretence of caring about people like me is a cynical betrayal of what really matters. If Sunak really wanted to make our lives better then he would act faster on net zero and give us a true green new deal.
Bel Greenwood
Norwich
