The decision by SNP Energy Minister Jim Mather to reject the Lewis Wind Power wind farm strips the Scottish Government of any remaining pretence that it is serious about promoting renewable energy as an alternative to its declared passion for coal and gas as the future for electricity generation.

Allied to its almost pathological hatred of nuclear power, the SNP is fast becoming a liability for future generations. It is prepared to jeopardise the long-term security of our energy supply for short-term political expediency and has adopted a weather-vane approach to renewable energy development, depending on which direction the prevailing political ill wind blows.

No-one can now take seriously the party's constant claims that Scotland can be the green "powerhouse of Europe". For every renewable energy project of any size anywhere in Scotland, or for any grid infrastructure upgrade necessary to transport that energy to markets in the south, there is an SNP minister, MSP, council or councillor saying: "Not in my back yard."

The SNP talks green but turns yellow whenever it considers it populist to do so. It is time the renewables sector opened its eyes to the facts.

Environmentalists, too, can take little comfort from this decision as the figures on Scottish CO2 emissions, scheduled to be published later in the year, will undoubtedly show a year-on-year rise despite a declared intention to cut them by 3% year on year. Yet another broken promise, but one that future generations will pay for.

According to Mr Mather, the Lewis application is best treated as a "learning exercise". I wonder how the renewables industry feels about subsidising his education; or the islanders hoping for jobs.

They are the real victims of this decision and there will be many more as the SNP continues to substitute policy for populism.

Allan Wilson, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire.

I applaud the Scottish Government's decision to refuse planning permission for the Lewis wind farm. Destroying deep peatland, as would have been the case on Lewis, would create more carbon emissions than it would ever save.

The previous Labour/LibDem executive had no coherent strategy for wind energy, simply offering lucrative inducements to power companies and landowners that led to a stampede to erect giant turbines. Hundreds of applications are still in the planning pipeline, many of them in wholly inappropriate locations that would threaten endangered flora and fauna and industrialise some of Scotland's most spectacular landscape.

Peat is a global carbon sink, storing millions of tonnes of CO2 during the tens of thousands of years the peat is formed from rotting tress and plant material. The first thing a contractor does before building a giant windmill on peatland is to drain the area, thus releasing all of the stored CO2 into the atmosphere. The peatland is also subsequently destroyed as a carbon sump, stopping any further carbon storage.

Taken together with the construction of mammoth steel towers, huge glass-fibre blades, vast concrete foundations under every turbine, borrow pits, drains, connecting roads, overhead power lines and pylons, the carbon footprint from every wind farm built on deep peat far exceeds any environmental saving it may aspire to.

The decision to refuse approval for the Lewis wind farm is hopefully the first of many such decisions. Similar applications for giant wind farms on deep peatland on Dava Moor (Grantown on Spey), Kergord Valley (Shetland) and at many other locations should all be stopped. Wind energy certainly has a role to play in a diverse renewable energy mix, but it must be properly planned and sited.

Struan Stevenson, MEP, The European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, B-1047, Brussels.

Today, April 23, is the last day of the Scottish Government's consultation on climate change. Across Scotland, environmental groups have responded, arguing their case. Now it is up to the politicians to deliver.

While the impact of climate change is felt most severely in developing countries, historically they have had least responsibility for creating the problem. Scotland produces as much carbon dioxide as Bangladesh, which has a population 30 times bigger.

Politicians must accept the challenge of developing a bill to meet the scale of the problem. It must include an 80% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, the inclusion of all aviation and shipping emissions, and annual targets for reductions of at least 3% per year.

This is an issue relevant to us all, as many Glaswegians are well aware. When the World Development Movement Glasgow invited people to sign a petition calling for the government to take strong action on climate change, almost 300 signatures were collected in less than three hours by a small group of people. Politicians should bear in mind that voters are concerned and informed about climate change, and look to them for leadership.

Kate Robinson, Glasgow.