Donald Trump and the Paris climate accord

Sir, We are still in the EU, and we remain committed to the Paris climate accord. Why then could Theresa May not add her name to the EU declaration renewing support for the Paris accord in the face of Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw? This surely misses an opportunity for us to proclaim our credentials on an issue of world importance and to demonstrate to the other EU leaders our solidarity on such matters, Brexit notwithstanding.
Mike Davison
Holywell, Cambs

Sir, President Trump says he intends to “put American workers first” (News, June 2). His actions will certainly put American workers and their families first in line for premature deaths from respiratory diseases caused by pollution. He certainly has not shown concern for the health and well-being of the American people.
Dr JD Baines
Penpillick, Cornwall

Sir, Monday, June 5 is UN World Environment Day and the Society for the Environment is leading its celebration in the UK. We want it to be one of the most important days of the year for everyone, a day when everyone takes action to connect with nature and care for our planet.

We are deeply dismayed that the US government has announced its withdrawal from the Paris accord, but we are confident that there are enough people in the US committed to the principles behind World Environment Day, and we are hopeful that this will blunt the impact of the withdrawal.

We must all support each other in being agents of change, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and collectively holding back our rising global temperature. And we must all celebrate our achievements together on World Environment Day.
Dr Emma Wilcox, chief executive, Dr Peter Matthews, chairman, Society for the Environment

Sir, I believe President Trump is right to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. The unproven theory that man-made carbon dioxide emissions are causing potentially catastrophic global warming is accepted by some climate scientists but rejected by others. Bjorn Lomborg has written a peer-reviewed paper on this subject and concludes that even if all the nations who signed the Paris accord fulfilled their promises by 2030 the average global temperature would, by 2100, only be 0.048C lower than it would otherwise have been.

Colossal amounts of money could be spent to achieve an almost undetectable temperature reduction.
James Allan
Fellow, Energy Institute
Hartlepool, Co Durham

DRUGS POLICY
Sir, The forthcoming general election has pleasingly been about more than Brexit, but one vital policy has been conspicuously absent from the party manifestos and campaigns, with the exception of the Liberal Democrats. Given that drug-related deaths are at an all-time high and presentations for mental health conditions related to drug use are rising at alarming rates, it is remarkable that there has been no debate about how these issues might be addressed.

Over the past decade across the world there has been an unprecedented wave of drug policy reforms. Local initiatives, from adoption of de facto decriminalisation by police, to drug-safety testing services, to supervised consumption rooms, are rising to meet the problems central government is ignoring, and even exacerbating through defunding of drug services.

Our next government cannot avoid dealing with the impact of decades of ineffective public policy relating to drugs. This campaign suggests that most parties are a long way from the hard thinking that this will require. We call upon all parties to state how they will address the escalating crises arising from current drug policy.
Nicky Saunter, chief executive, Transform Drug Policy Foundation, Neil Woods, chairman, Law Enforcement Action Partnership UK, Professor Mike Barnes, consultant neurologist, Sam Bowman, executive director, Adam Smith Institute, Dr Robert Ralphs, senior lecturer in criminology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Amanda Feilding, director, Beckley Foundation, Paul Birch, founder, Volteface, Tim Colbourne, director of policy, Open Reason, Professor Fiona Measham, director and co-founder, The Loop, John Liebling, political director, UPA

NHS LOTTERY?
Sir, When the UK National Lottery was debated in parliament in 1993, there was a fear expressed that the money raised would be used to help fund projects which are properly the subject of general taxation.

For this reason the National Health Service was specifically excluded, and specific funds set up for various categories to improve the nation’s lifestyle.

This has worked very well with a fantastic variety of projects successfully completed. However, in view of the increasing pressure on the NHS through an ageing population and increase in the cost of treatment, it may be time to rethink the philosophy and include specific NHS projects in the prize fund.
Ian Allan
Shepperton, Middx

MEDICATION AUDITS
Sir, Any saving in costs associated with reducing drugs prescribed to the elderly is a secondary issue. Frederic Edgar (Letters, 2 June) identifies the main point: the regimen of patients taking multiple drugs requires expert, regular review.

When one of my medical students in Cambridge discovered that my first degree had been in pharmacy and pharmacology, he observed: “We did that in a fortnight last summer.” Medical students can’t spend several years studying drugs and their interactions, but pharmacists do, and they can quickly and efficiently perform drug audits for patients subject to “polypharmacy”.

If this leads to fewer drugs being taken (and it usually does), there may be cost savings — but, more importantly, it will probably result in better health for the patients.
Dr John Gordon
Appleton, Oxon

GRADUATE DEBT
Sir, What does Jeremy Corbyn propose to do in respect of those many parents like ourselves who, through savings and sheer hard work, paid all the tuition fees (“Labour promises to write off graduate debt”, News, June 2)? In his spirit of hope and equality in the future I assume he will reimburse us, thereby treating all families equally.
Jane Sanders
Leicester

FOOD BANKS
Sir, Have food banks become such an accepted element of our society that we now see them as integral to the fabric of our social structure? They are not mentioned in the Tory manifesto. The Labour Party manifesto mentions them but makes no commitment to removing them. The Liberal Democrats intend to ensure that people who are using them know their rights.

None of the country’s church leaders is making any comment about them in the days before the general election. So are we now a country where we believe that the basic necessities should be provided to those who are desperately in need through a system of voluntary donations?
The Rev Canon Eric Knowles
Malvern, Worcestershire

SLEEPLESS TREES
Sir, Further to the article about the problems streetlights are causing for urban trees (“Trees ‘robbed of sleep’ by streetlights”, News, June 1), I’m not sure that councils turning off streetlights is the solution. The street lighting is surely a necessary safety feature. Perhaps councils could look into fitting movement sensors to the lights so they come on only when needed.

Part of the cost could be met by organisations with an interest in protecting trees, or local businesses and schools could be encouraged to “adopt” trees in a particular street and raise money to support the measure.
Lynne Morgan
Hounslow TW4

I’M SO ‘POWFAGGED’
Sir, Regarding obscure words (Letters, June 1 and 2), my late father, born in Southport and whose father was born in Accrington, constantly used the word “powfagged” to mean “exhausted” or “beyond tired”, which my twin and I have used since we could talk.

She has taken the word to Paris, where she moved to years ago, and I have taken it to Derbyshire, via a long spell in London. My young sons happily use the word, to the confusion of their friends.
Cat Garrett
Ashbourne, Derbyshire

HAKA FIGHTBACK
Sir, If, as Warren Gatland expects, the Lions in New Zealand are to face the on-field haka before every game, he might consider a like response — perhaps a Morris dance, which is enough to frighten anybody (“Gatland: haka losing impact”, Sport, June 2).
Ray Quinlan Ithaca
Ashtead, Surrey

Letters to the Editor should be sent to letters@thetimes.co.uk