The Reader: Eco-disruptors are right — we need to act now

Prince Charles isn’t alone. I, too, have sympathy for the “eco-disruptors”. The status quo simply isn’t sustainable. Huge and far-reaching change is needed.

The earth is already 1.2C hotter than it was in pre-industrial times. Keeping it below 1.5C by the end of the century, as required by the Paris Agreement, is looking less and less likely. But the point is that the crisis worsens further for every decimal place the world warms. To keep it below 2C requires a lot of work that must be accelerated now. The planet is crying out for action. The people need a planet that functions.

So, yes, I agree with Prince Charles. The so-called eco-disruptors are only trying to prevent disruption down the line.

Sebastian Monblat

Dear Sebastian,

I share your fears about the climate and echo your sympathies with the cause of protesters such as those from Insulate Britain and Greenpeace. As Greta Thunberg said at the Youth4Climate summit, we have had enough of lofty ambition and empty words — what we need is concrete policy on nationally determined contributions, carbon pricing and regulation. But tactics such as blocking motorways risk alienating people who would otherwise be on side. And we need them to be paying attention — COP26 is only a few weeks away.

Emma Loffhagen, Comment writer

Boris Johnson has only recently come back from a nice holiday in Somerset. Now he’s jetting off again. This wouldn’t matter for most people but as PM he should be setting an example in this self-inflicted crisis.

Stuart Gibson

There were plenty of warnings from Asia and Italy about the way Covid was spreading rapidly. This government ignored them all and sat back to watch rather than acting or even checking that the government had a means to respond.

Sheila Barrett

[The government] shouldn’t just apologise - they should pay out compensation to families bereaved to failed Covid response.

Andrei Kharlamov

The pandemic has been a stunning success based on the early and successful production of the AZ vaccine. Over a billion vaccines produced cost price distributed saving the lives of people all over the world, including thousands of Brits. The elderly and vulnerable were protected first (to the shock of the EU who had a different philosophy). Other countries lagged far behind our vaccine production and distribution. A success story to be proud of.

Christine Laznicka

Who exactly can blame civil servants working from home? Working at home a lot means you can more easily eat leftovers from dinner the next day, leading to a reduction in wasted food, which is good from a carbon emissions point of view. I might also point out that any half decent minister would want to realise the benefits of saving money on office accommodation and plough those back into frontline public services.

Ian Speed

Civil servants may save on travel and lunches. Working from home is also better for the environment, plus utility bills will be a lot higher so not running offices is a win win. [I] think it’s a good idea to continue without being penalised financially as company gains will outweigh what they’re paying towards travel.

Nicole Tte

I wonder if rapidly rising gas and electricity prices will encourage people back to the office. Why heat your own home when you can be toasty at work for free?

Mark Cooper