On BBC Question Time (BBCQT), Reform leader Richard Tice tried to play down the man-made climate crisis:
The climate has changed for millions and millions of years. That’s the reality.
But the audience repeatedly laughed at Tice’s argument:
If you want something to cheer you up, here’s Richard Tice getting laughed at on #bbcqt last night for saying we should do nothing to slow climate change
Always good to remember that most people are sane and normal, it’s only the likes of Tice who are notpic.twitter.com/9acGtB9FcM
— Sam Bright (@WritesBright) April 19, 2024
Even though solar energy is projected to become much cheaper than fossil fuels, it will still not replace them fast enough to offset climate change.
Governments must accelerate the system ideally with publicly owned renewable energy to improve cost efficiency through removing profiteering shareholders.
Analysis shows that in 2023 global temperatures were 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels in 1850-1900. 1.5 degrees was the limit proposed at the 2015 Paris climate summit.
Nonetheless Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak has green-lighted the development of the Rosebank oil and gas field in the UK.
BBCQT: even Tice couldn’t hide from the truth
Reform leader Tice, also a presenter on GB News, said on that channel there is “good news” because we’re using our “own oil”. But Just Stop Oil’s Zoe Cohen replied:
You are not going to be better off in any way… This oil gets sold on the global market for the highest bidder. It doesn’t even belong to the UK. It belongs to the… oil companies that own the oil rigs etc. It doesn’t belong to us it isn’t British oil.
It’s worth noting that an owner of GB News actually runs a hedge fund with $2.2bn in fossil fuel investments. Cohen continued:
Long term job security is going to come from working in renewables and related sectors… If we continue with new oil and gas we.. have economic, societal and climate collapse
Scientists have warned that the globe is on the verge of tipping points that may cause an irreversible collapse. This is due to a “domino effects” where one event triggers another.
The events that would cause major turning points include the melting of permafrost and the collapse of an oceanic current. Currents in the ocean play a key role in regulating temperatures.
The evidence on man-made climate change is overwhelming. Yet Tice is still arguing we should ignore the issue and continue business as usual. His views rightly faced ridicule on BBCQT.
Featured image via BBC Question Time
By James Wright
This post was originally published on Canary.
