The Brexit climate science deniers have over the weekend launched a coordinated attempt to persuade the UK to cut green regulations ahead of Theresa May revealing the Conservative Partyโs 2017 general election manifesto.
In op-ed columns and letters to the editor in both The Times and The Telegraph members of climate science denying and neoliberal think tanks have criticised the UK Climate Change Act for increasing energy prices and called for looser regulations once we leave the Europeanย Union.
Those authoring the columns and heading up the letters belong to a small yet influential group of hardline Euro-climate sceptics as revealed by DeSmog UK lastย summer.
This includes members of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), Civitas, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), and the TaxPayersโ Alliance. Three ofย these four opaque groups operate out of the same building on Tufton Street literally steps from the Houses of Parliament, while the IEA is located just around the corner on Lord Northย Street.
At the same time as thousands of people marched around the world to call for climate action, Charles Moore, former editor of the Telegraph, wrote in the paper: โOut of the EU, Britain could copy Trumpโs bonfire of controls, igniting it with good old fossilย fuels.โ
Moore, however, failed to disclose that he is a member of the GWPFโs board of trustees in his piece where he cites a letter published that same day in the Telegraph signed by the GWPF, the IEA, Civitas and the TaxPayersโย Alliance.
This letter called the Climate Change Act the โprincipal culpritโ of high energy prices and called for the removal of all renewable subsidies by 2020. It too suggested Britain should follow in the footsteps of Trumpโs America and โaccelerateโ the development of its shale gasย industry.
Coordinated Charles Moore op-ed and IEA / GWPF / Civitas / TPA letter to Telegraph attacking Climate Change Acthttps://t.co/ItNyO47K2e pic.twitter.com/5WszV4sofv
โ Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) April 29, 2017
Meanwhile in The Times, GWPF member and coal mine owner Matt Ridley wrote about innovation, arguing that โwe will be stuck in the economic slow lane unless we cut burdensome regulation and give free rein to new ideas.โ Ridley’s position as an academic advisor to the GWPF is not disclosed by theย paper.
And former energy secretary Lord Lawson headed up a letter to the editor which read in similar vein to the one in the Telegraph. It argues that Britain should not impose price control measures to cut energy bills. Here too the letter fails to disclose that Lawson is the founder of the GWPF.
The Times, however, did also run a column this weekend by Stanley Johnson, father of Boris Johnson, entitled โWe must not destroy the environmental protections the EU has helpedย make.โ
In it Johnson calls for the UK to seize the opportunity post-Brexit to lead foreign policy and development efforts regarding climate change and wildlife. He also says the UK should maintain high standards for the environment andย remain a participant in the European Environmentย Agency.
These articles and letters all come ahead of the June general election. Like during the Brexit campaign, climate change is unlikely to feature prominently in the election debates. However, while maintaining the UKโs efforts to tackle climate change may not appear to be a priority, for many working in these think tanks, these articles make itย clear that Britain’s green efforts are in theirย crosshairs.
Photo: City of York Councilย UK via Flickr | CCย 2.0
Subscribe to our newsletter
Stay up to date with DeSmog news and alerts