IN my letter of June 17 (Labour is operating double standards here) I noted with interest, and a little incredulity, Councillor John Tanner’s request to his Labour colleagues on the county council to vote in favour of divesting out of fossil fuels.

Well, true to form – and as I’d expected – Tanner et al voted against divestment this week when it came before the county council.

I am disappointed, not because a politician said one thing and did another, but because getting out of hydrocarbons is in the long-term interest of us all.

Due to the rise in temperature caused by the release of carbon dioxide from burning hydrocarbons, our long-term reliance on fossil fuels (looking forward 30-40 years) is going to become ever more precarious.

Only 20 per cent of known reserves can be burned if we want to avoid a 2C temperature rise, the level at which scientists predict catastrophic climate change.

The financial risk of investing in fossil fuels will steadily increase while the benefits will decrease – in other words the carbon bubble is set to burst.

There is already evidence the process has started.

With renewables now offering equivalent financial return as hydrocarbons, and when we have the space and time to get on the front foot and proactively manage the transition away from hydrocarbons without putting pension returns at risk, now is the time to act. This week our elected leaders missed this opportunity.

Councillor DAVID THOMAS, Howard Street, Oxford

 

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