Fuel dependency

Sir,– The Opec+ group has announced it will cut oil production by 2 million barrels of oil per day whilst tens of millions of us in Europe are struggling to pay massively increased energy bills, as well as trying to secure energy supplies for an uncertain winter (“Opec+ agrees to cut output by 2m barrels a day”, News, October 5th).

With a world recession forecast by many economists for next year, this cutback can only be seen as cynical, at best.

After all the fuel crises of the past it is high time that Europe ceased its critical dependence on the Middle East and Russia. In this context I welcome the new European forum initiated by the French president Emmanuel Macron in Prague.

I respectfully suggest that as matter of extreme urgency they call on all the brains and boffins available, just as in war-time, to transition us on to (already proven) hydrogen fuel and other renewable sources.