UK Government in denial on climate change

30 July 2023

On Thursday last week (20 July) climate scientists lined up on the BBC to condemn what fifteen of them described in a letter to Rishi Sunak as the government's 'lackadaisical' attitude to global warming, and accused the government of dishonestly claiming to still be international leaders in climate change mitigation when this was no longer true.

A long item on Radio 4's The World at One began with a series of quotations, about the importance of 'keeping 1.5 alive'.  There followed a recording of a Today Programme interview the same day with Sir Bob Watson, Director of Strategic Development for the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia, and live interviews with Dr Chris Smith, Research Fellow at the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at Leeds University, Lord Stern, currently Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE and  leader of the of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in 2006, and Lord Deben, recently retired Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee.  All feared that the target of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels was no longer achievable, and accused the government of not taking climate change seriously enough, and not taking sufficient action to try to mitigate its effects.  A statement made to The World at One, in a  dishonest attempt to justify the government's current attitude to climate change, said  the UK was

“a world leader on net zero, cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country, and has attracted billions of investment into renewables, which now account for 40% of our electricity.  In the last year alone we have confirmed the first state backing of a new nuclear project in over 30 years and invested billions to kick-start new industries like carbon capture and floating offshore wind.

“With a new department dedicated to delivering net zero and energy security, this government is driving economic growth, creating jobs, bringing down energy bills, and reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels.”

Listen to The World at One  item
(You may have to sign in to BBC Sounds - the item starts at 7.30
The government statement is at 21.30).

Sir Bob Watson on the Today programme  20 July
Esme Stallard & Justin Rowlatt    BBC News Climate and Science

Climate scientists' and industrialists' letters to Rishi Sunak
Financial Times  20 July  Jim Pickard and Attracta Mooney