Broadcast media must stop the climate change scare tactics

Climate change is real we get it but no need to scare us to death (Image: Getty) Two BBC Climate Disinformation reporters released a guide last summer on the BBC ‘s website called: ‘How to talk to a climate change denier’. The piece described a young man’s unsettling exchange with his father who believed climate change is a hoax and how he was meant to react in that scenario. It also featured a university professor’s warning about how the future will be lost unless we tackle ‘climate denial and climate indifference’. Therein lies the problem. It is no longer good enough to simply ask questions or query politicians’ motivations. In fact, complete panic and fear seem to be the only appropriate responses when discussing climate change. It is therefore no surprise the likes of the BBC have given us minute-by-minute updates on the ‘infernal’ heatwave currently sweeping southern Europe. These soaring temperatures, caused by high-pressure weather phenomena known as anticyclones, are a normal meteorological occurrence. And although the length and frequency may vary, it is difficult to ascribe this single weather event directly to climate change. In fact, that is the difficulty with most weather phenomena. It is for this reason that climate is defined as the weather patterns of a region over a 30-year period. Summer occurs every year. What then is the point of bombarding our screens daily with tanned Europeans sprawled across beaches, supposedly shrivelling in the unbearable heat? I imagine there are many Britons who would prefer to be on the beaches of Sardinia than in the sporadic rain showers in the UK. Of course, that is not to downplay the impact of severe weather conditions. Extreme heat can have broad socio-economic consequences; ranging from heat strokes and poor crop irrigation to damage to road surfaces, railway tracks, and other key infrastructure. However, current coverage seeks only to scare, not inform or educate. There has been no shortage of climate conspiracies. In the Seventies, global cooling was the great fear. More people feared a new ice age than rising CO2 levels. Yet, the closest we ever came to that was the children’s animated film Ice Age. Then, scientists estimated that at least 75 percent of all animal species would be extinct by 1995. That too failed to happen. Today, global warming is all the rage. The likes of Greta Thunberg are counting down the days until we are all burnt to a crisp by mother nature’s wrath. There is no denying that human activity is impacting the climate. But the fearmongering tactics employed by the likes of the BBC and Sky do the conversation about climate change no justice. It is a nuanced, complex and serious matter. And painting doomsday scenarios that never materialise will only make things worse. We all have free speech … as long as you hold the correct views Nigel Farage has taken on the establishment and won … again (Image: Getty) The intersection between free speech and freedom of association is curious. On the one hand, we live in a society that guarantees a person’s right to hold opinions and ideas and to share them with others without interference from the state. On the other hand, businesses should have the right to choose whose custom they take, right? This dilemma, at the heart of Nigel Farage’s row with posh bank Coutts, has in many ways united both the left and the right. According to minutes from the bank’s ‘Wealth Reputational Risk Committee’ meeting, they decided to close his account due to objections to his political views, despite him being wealthy enough to be a customer. It is hard to imagine a greater attack on free speech. The message here is loud and clear – you could be next. It’s now what you know, it’s who you know It’s hard to imagine a more ludicrous case of nepotism than the recent appointment (and subsequent resignation) of fire chief Nicci Marzec – forced to step down after just 10 days in the role. Her resignation came after the Fire Brigades Union described her recruitment as ‘highly unusual’, saying Miss Marzec had ‘no operational understanding of the role’. She was hired by her friend Stephen Mold, the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, with no experience for the role and a handsome £35k pay hike that would have taken her salary up to just under £140,000. Many are now calling for Mr Mold’s head too… rightly so. Such disregard for public offices can only weaken our institutions, stacking them with incompetents who don’t meet the rigorous standards our services deserve.