As half of England and all of Wales are officially in drought, wildfires have burned through parts of the Cairngorms, Suffolk, and the Isle of Wight, and reservoirs run low, a small chorus of right-leaning critics is trying to convince politicians that climate action is deeply unpopular, downplaying its seriousness in the process.
Recent articles, mostly in the Telegraph, have suggested that Britain should give up on net zero and adapt to a Mediterranean climate, that wildfires were exacerbated by environmental groups, and that climate 'catastrophism' is a 'leftist weapon' designed to 'destroy capitalism'. This line of argument comes despite England entering its fourth heatwave of the year.
From 'Lukewarmers' to 'Daft' Arguments
The term 'lukewarmer' was popularised by Matt Ridley, a former Conservative peer, who is affiliated with the Global Warming Policy Foundation. 'Lukewarmers accept the reality of human-made climate change, but believe the impact of it won't be as big as people argue, and that policies involved in mitigating these impacts will be expensive and difficult,' said Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.
Another argument is that since the UK produces less than 1% of global carbon emissions, net zero is irrelevant. Ward calls this 'a totally daft argument'. He adds: 'If more than 99% of the emissions damaging the UK come from other countries, then we have a vested interest in persuading those countries to accelerate their transition. And we're not going to persuade them by dragging our feet.'
Shaping Politics and Public Perception
The 2024 Conservative manifesto committed to net zero by 2050, but Kemi Badenoch ditched the target, possibly to win back Reform voters. Media coverage of net zero is more than twice as likely to be negative than positive, which could be driving a false perception that climate action is unpopular, encouraging MPs to underestimate public support.
In other words, a small chorus of climate sceptics aren't trying to represent public opinion or persuade us to embrace Mediterranean summers, so much as convince politicians that climate action is deeply unpopular.
