Letter: The choice is wind power or selfishness

Sir: Full exploitation of the existing technologies for energy conservation, combined with renewable energy sources and minor changes in the way we organise our lives, could allow a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 50 per cent by the industrialised countries in 25 years.

Commitment to such reductions at this year's climate change conference is necessary if we are to persuade the countries now industrialising rapidly, such as China and India - both of which have huge resources of coal (high in carbon content) - to develop in ways which are less profligate of energy than the route we have followed in the past.

We should make freely available to developing countries the technologies for local manufacture of energy-efficient equipment and devices to exploit renewable energy. Such policies would also help to reduce the probability of conflicts over reducing stocks of oil.

MARTIN QUICK

Stroud,Gloucestershire