SIR - Mike Priestley (T&A, November 4) rightly suggests this country should commit itself to reducing climate change emissions but he is concerned others might be less responsible.

Even if this was so, this would not give us the right to be self-indulgent.

In fact most European countries take the matter more seriously than we do but they don't talk so much about it.

We can't expect India and China to take on all the responsibility when they have contributed so little in the past to the present problem.

Rather we need to set an example that we can reasonably suggest they follow in the future as they raise their living standards.

Keith Thomson, Heights Lane, Bradford