Perfection is the enemy against progress in tackling climate change - Yorkshire Post Letters

We mustn’t let perfection get in the way of progress as we strive towards Net Zero because

future generations are counting on us. We may not have all the answers, but we know that wind and solar energy will reduce our emissions from electricity production. We also know

that we can electrify much of our transport, home heating and more.

Neither must we let pessimism slow us down because we are lucky in many ways.

Renewables are vastly more efficient and cost effective than they were and still improving.

Battery technology, a crucial next step, is now developing very fast. One manufacturer has announced its second generation of sodium-ion batteries that are made from far more

common materials than lithium.

Two other companies have joined the race driving competition and innovation. Batteries for grid storage are now also being made from another common element, iron, providing yet another option.

Heat provides another opportunity that can be exploited. Data centres and industrial processes have waste heat that can be used to make homes and other buildings warm.

Disused mines are often full of hot water that can supercharge district heating systems. Another system that uses clean energy to heat bricks to a very high temperature can even

drive a steam turbine.

All this provides jobs like those at the factory on Humberside that has been awarded a £1bn contract to make wind turbine blades for ScottishPower.