HALF of British consumers oppose 'green' taxes to tackle climate change because they feel they're already paying too much tax, according to a survey last week by Unbiased. co. uk, a website promoting independent "nancial advisers.

Just one in five was willing to pay a surcharge on cheap holiday flights . . . and it's hard to blame someone wanting some sun after cleaning up from the floods . . . and 7% were pleased to tell pollsters they don't give a fiddler's about all this climate business.

It follows another study released by HSBC a week earlier showing that, surprisingly, people in Asia and Latin America are far more optimistic and engaged on climate change issues than people in Europe and the US.

MCCREEVY IN HOT AIR INITIATIVE

IF you Google 'Charlie McCreevy' and 'hot air', only 205 hits are returned, but the European Commissioner was opening a new manufacturing centre in Borris, Co Carlow, last week to reduce the amount of hot air created.

McCreevy was in town to open Keenan System's new plant which makes agricultural food mixers designed to produce nutritious feed for cattle and sheep that also reduces methane emissions.

Keenan System has invested 8m in plant and nutrition research.

The company claims its services can reduce the nine million tonnes of methane farted annually by Irish livestock by 20%. In terms of Ireland's carbon footprint that's the equivalent of taking 425,000 cars off the roads. A spokesman could not con"rm if the same could be done for politicians' emissions.

NORDIES SHOULD WEAR JUMPERS

THE outdoor heating industry is in rude health with the trend for smoking bans across Britain and Ireland driving trade, but startling new figures from the Energy Saving Trust show the craze for patio heaters show is massively increasing carbon emissions.

"The Energy Saving Trust today reveals that patio heaters across Britain and Northern Ireland will soon emit the same amount of carbon dioxide as around 19,000 households do in a year, " said Noel Williams, head of the EST in Northern Ireland. "However, Northern Ireland has the most householders who own or are planning to buy a patio heater compared to England, Scotland and Wales. The question is: why don't people just wear a jumper?"

The EST estimates the average patio heater uses the same amount of energy as a single domestic gas hob uses in six months and emits around 50 kilos of carbon dioxide.