IT’S not often that I am accused of telling untruths and being ungrateful even when put in such a charming manner by Mr Figg (‘Applaud the benefits’-July 27). I deal in facts not fiction and cannot find anything to be grateful for in respect to fighting global warming.

Sunlight isn’t currently getting the attention it deserves. Far less effective means to reduce carbon emissions are getting supported by HMG and Dorset Council subsidies for projects which result in huge profits for energy suppliers and exorbitantly high costs to the public.

I repeat, if we’re going to have any chance at all of stabilising climate change, we can’t keep waiting for the private sector to deliver our clean, green energy future. Public ownership is the only way to transition quickly to zero carbon, hand in hand with workers, citizens and communities.

Unbelievably our government is falling over itself to grant private companies ever more means to ‘rip us off ’ by subsidising projects like heat pumps and biomass boilers with our money! The £2 million government subsidy for the Kingston Maurward heat pump could have been far better spent by subsidising half the cost of solar panels on 1,000 local houses producing an annual 3 megawatt hours for at least the next 25 years with no additional costs.

Everyone would be a winner!

Putting private companies in charge of tackling climate change is like licensing firemen to meter and charge homeowners for the water used to put out their house fires and making us buy the hoses as well!

MIKE JOSLIN

Garfield Avenue Dorchester