"Green" policies are destroying this country

Well that is an honest assessment. I'd agree - we should develop good public transport systems for urban and suburban areas. And then ban all ownership and use of private vehicles in same urban and suburban areas. Public transport, cycle or walk. Park & ride only for personal travel into these areas from outside.

So you don't think the EU should try and reduce emissions at all?

I also don't understand how people think we can clean up our act without being inconvenienced a little, our current lifestyles are not sustainable.

You can call it a green agenda, but the planet and resources are finite, water and air are essential to life, nearly every scientist and study shows that climate change is real and will cause disaster worldwide, food shortages, crop failure etc., we are currently doing our best to destroy everything.

yes, modern political and economic ideologies are ultimately based on the individual taking on the majority of the debts required, this simply wont work, and has already begun to collapse, unfortunately most green orientated parties have not largely accepted this failure just yet, they have gotten caught up in these ideologies also, its simply angering people, and turning people away from what needs to occur...

Do you think the EU should do anything to reduce emissions? Do you think the EU should stop trading with China seen as we are their biggest customer and outsource a lot of our emissions to China?

The EU is a large polluter, we pollute way more per capita than China in the EU and are their biggest trading customer.

Do you think we the EU should stop trading with them?

Global shipping and air transport are significant polluters and emitters. Personally I don't share your world view that we would be better off without them. If it's a choice between my big OLED TV and being able to travel and see the world, go skiing in winter, and climate change, I am more than willing to embrace climate change.

What you don't get is that the flexibility, freedom and sheer utility of personal transportation transformed the post industrial revolution world and was a significant enabler of the quality and standard of life we enjoy. It's been a very, very good thing.

While you might personally be able to ride a bike everywhere in all weathers and use public transport and be happy with that limited life, that is not not for everyone and it's not your personal prerogative to dictate that they should copy you. A lot of your life is underpinned by workers and people who need and use personal vehicles. Do you think the construction workers who built whatever you live in got to work on public transport or carried all their stuff on bicycles?

I actually care a great deal about the environment, but it's in terms of habitat, overfishing of the seas - which has resulted in the rise of shark attacks in litoral waters - deforestation and physical pollution like rubbish and chemical dumping. The trouble with the whole climate change focus is that these far more important issues have been trivialised and get scant attebtion in comparrison, and that is huge tragedy.

again, yes, the majority of their energy supplies do indeed come from fossil fuels, not just coal, but again, theyre expanding their renewables faster than most western nations, we ve all pretty much started from zero in regards renewables, as most energy supplies globally are from fossil fuels, including our own

say wha?

I just want to understand the statement "they're expanding their renewables faster than most western countries"

Does this mean:

2021 renewable energy/total energy - 2020 renewable energy/total energy

Is greater for china than more than 50% of oecd countries?

The term "expanding" must be relative to total energy production otherwise it is meaningless.

You must have missed the part where I said some people will always need cars for work and those of you who choose to live in one off housing too. Lots of people have a choice however.

It's a tricky one to do it in a fair way I'll give you that, maybe some kind of leeway for certain people would be a good idea? It's not really a green policy either, FG/FF etc are all in favour of carbon taxes, they're not going to go away when the Greens are voted out.

Your last paragraph is exactly how I feel - habitat loss is the biggest tragedy to this planet. If they waved a magic wand and climate change was ‘fixed’, it wouldn’t matter, we’re still losing everything that is beautiful on this planet.

The green policies are a significant factor in the housing crisis. The cost of building a house is far too much compared to value. I know for example with a once off house you're straight away in negative equity before you move in.

My brother in law got a quote of 90k just for the renewables and insulation upgrade of a very modest sized 1980s house and offered just 18k of a grant off it.

That's 70k onto the cost of a refurb that would normally cost about 20k for the previous spec materials. Coupled with all the other materials, price increases and supply issues it's pretty grim

Politicians are all for taxes, dont care where it comes from. Better still if the sheep clamour for it.