Paul J. wrote:

…… and that the SMMT are hardly neutral observers ……

Being "neutral" might be counterproductive to the aims of the SMMT:

"The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is one of the largest and most influential trade associations in the UK. Its resources, reputation and unrivalled automotive data place it at the heart of the UK automotive industry.

SMMT is the voice of the UK motor industry, supporting and promoting its members’ interests, at home and abroad, to government, stakeholders and the media.

SMMT represents more than 800 automotive companies in the UK, providing them with a forum to voice their views on issues affecting the sector, helping to guide strategies and build positive relationships with government and regulatory authorities."

leeds wrote:

Now apart from chest beating look at me (UK government) and the UK going carbon neutral by year 2025/2030/2050/20whatever what effect will it have on global warming?

Now the environmentalist warriors will probably want my guts for garters but the effect of the UK going carbon neutral will have jack effect on global warming.

Look at the figures for CO2 emissions by country on global emissions

1st China at 9,041,000,000 metric tonnes

2nd USA at 4,998,000,000 metric tonnes

3rd India at 2,066,000,000 metric tonnes

at

15th UK at 390,000,000 metric tonnes or about 1% of the global CO2 emissions.

The top 3 countries contribute about 50% of global CO2 emissions

Figures taken from here

Now China is proposing building between 300-500 EXTRA coal fired power station by 2030

Now China is a very environmentally friendly country (NOT!)


Now the USA has a president who does not believe in global warming so chances of getting the USA to reduce CO2 emissions is about zero.

India has almost the same population as China but about a 1/5 of the GDP per capita of China so you could expect some growth there and dare I say increased CO2 emissions.

So conclusions the UK government is basically saying look at us, how good we are whilst having jack effect on global warming or is a tax revenue income by stealth?



Brendan