Christopher Booker's notebook
(Filed: 11/12/2005)

Cameron's first goof is on Kyoto

David Cameron may have won plaudits for his debut as Tory leader, but he has already made a tactical blunder. He has lent his support to the Government's "Kyoto approach" to global warming, and all its associated wishful thinking, just when the balance of the debate is tipping the other way.

The EU may wax sanctimonious about the US, but it is America that has cut its emissions, while the EU's continue to rise, hopelessly missing its Kyoto targets. Wind power now appears to be pie in the sky, while the penny drops that nuclear is the only answer. "Kyoto-ism" is seen as a mad self-deception, which can only result in crippling the world's economies to no purpose.

Cue for Mr Cameron to pledge his support to it, and to enlist as his champion John Gummer - whose major contribution to the "environment" is his energetic chairmanship, for some undisclosed sum, of Valpak, a company set up to steer businesses through the crazy EU recycling rules which Gummer himself introduced when he was environment minister.

On this one, I fear, Dave has goofed