Inverness Stagecoach buses showing improvement, plus North Sea oil and gas arguments

Arguments against oil and gas ‘are flawed’

Anne Thomas says “If we spend the money we spend on supporting and lining the pockets of the oil and gas industry we could ensure our homes and businesses are properly insulated and powered with clean energy" (Letters, January 17).

Her letter is full of soundbites but predominantly full of flaws.

Under the Finance Act 2016 there are three main taxes for activities in the UK or the UK sector of the continental shelf undertaking oil and gas exploration, development and production activities.

Corporation tax, Supplementary Charge and Energy Profits Levy now total 75 per cent of profits, so what's left can hardly be classed as " lining pockets of the oil and gas industry ".

Michael Baird

Dornoch Road

Bonar Bridge

The view that we should stop using Scotland's oil and gas reserves and that we have to reach net zero as soon as possible to avert economic disaster is both misleading and alarmist.

Many people who have invested in heat pumps, believing the hard sell to promote them have regretted it. They are not much cheaper than
other conventional heating methods and they are noisy.

Electric cars also are not taking off as expected due to the fact that they are expensive to buy and have to be continually recharged while their batteries can be a hazard.

A new study done at Sheffield University challenges the global warming premise at its core, arguing that CO2’s impact on global temperatures is far less significant than claimed and that net zero policies are both scientifically unfounded and economically devastating.

The study also underscores the stability of earth's climate system which is driven by natural factors like solar radiation, ocean currents and atmospheric pressure rather than gases like CO2.

Moreover CO2 comprises only 0.04 of the atmosphere and human activities contribute a mere fraction of this. These proportions are too small to drive significant climate change.

Despite these realities governments are committing trillions of dollars to net zero policies. In the UK alone, the cost of decarbonisation will cost probably billions with very little benefit.

The calculations show that even if global CO2 emissions were eliminated entirely, the temperature reduction is estimated to be a mere 0.28C by 2100.

J Maclennan

Castle Heather

Inverness

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Improvement in city bus service

Praise where praise is due - Stagecoach bus reliability has improved substantially and notably across the city and surrounding areas.

Barely any cancellations alongside a flurry of new drivers on routes and a timetable that can be relied upon.

What a different story compared to last year.

Hopefully driver retention will not be a problem in future months and the service can further improve and expand.

James Rorison

Skye Court

Inverness

Letters should be submitted to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk. Please include your address and a daytime contact number. You can also tweet us: @InvCourier or leave a comment on Facebook @invernesscourier

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