Essay by Eric Worrall
Would a society where climate dishonesty is unacceptable deter climate skeptics?
Why the ‘Me Too’ movement should be a warning to those lying about climate change
By Philippa Nuttall
In his latest book, author and academic Mike Berners-Lee calls for a ‘climate of truth’ from business, politicians and the media
At a glance
- Author and academic Mike Mike Berners-Lee believes dishonesty about climate change and other challenges facing the world is behind the lack of progress in reducing emissions and tackling wider problems such as pollution and nature loss
- He insists change is possible, but calls on everyone to be more truthful, and to call out the media, business and policymakers when they are being dishonest
- Regulation, in conjunction with high penalties and strict enforcement, is necessary to ensure business is delivering on environmental stewardship, he says
“A couple of decades ago, it was considered pretty normal by many celebrities that every now and then a bit of groping went on,” Mike Berners-Lee tells me. “Now, it is pretty clear to every BBC personality it would be the end of your career — and if you were found to have stood by while someone else was getting up to it, you would also be in very hot water.”
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Berners-Lee’s latest book, A Climate of Truth, concludes that central to our inability to get to grips with the “deadly polycrisis” we are in — one that includes climate change, biodiversity loss, food security concerns and permanent pollution — is a pervasive lack of truthfulness from policymakers, business and the media.
…
He cites the greenhouse gas emissions curve, which shows that despite 29 climate change COPs and a 30th in the offing, emissions continue to rise. “This is a reality we need to face up to: the process isn’t working. The best thing that came out of COP29 is the understanding that the process is broken.” It is also being “subverted by companies that can’t be trusted”, he adds.
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Read more: https://www.sustainableviews.com/why-the-me-too-movement-should-be-a-warning-to-those-lying-about-climate-change-c781857f/
Mike Berners-Lee wrote “There is no Planet B” and a bunch of other climate crisis books, so I think its fair to describe him as a bit of a fixture in the radical environmental movement.
But the fact is the truth is already coming out about climate change.
Reuters recently admitted Net Zero is a failure.
Climate alarmism has also been exposed by an entire year of temperatures greater than 1.5C without any of the predicted major climate disasters.
Silicon Valley has all but stopped pretending to care about climate change.
Despite all this, I am not accusing Mike Berners-Lee of being a liar. Reading Climategate convinced me climate radicals actually believe what they are preaching.
The problem is not that they are lying, the problem is they are wrong.
One of Freeman Dyson’s great disappointments was his political fellow travellers are caught up in climate groupthink. Dyson described seeing this kind of baseless groupthink many times in the past, mostly amongst the Astronomy community. It happens when scientists fall too much in love with their models, and begin confusing models with established fact.
Given the world has now experienced 1.5C warming without any of the predicted disasters, at least no more than usual, will academics like Mike Berners-Lee find the courage to admit they were wrong? You might think the answer is an automatic never, but we have had at least one example of a high profile academic who had the courage to face the truth.
By the mid 2030s it won’t matter what climate alarmists say or believe, the world will have moved on. Climate alarmism has all but run its course, many new voices are now casting doubt on the most extreme climate predictions. But a decade of continued high energy price misery is a long time to wait for people struggling to pay their energy bills.
Every academic who adds their voice to climate skepticism will help shorten the suffering of those still trapped in societies where climate alarmism dominates government policy.
Let us hope Mike Berners-Lee and his fellow academics take inspiration from James Lovelock, and find the courage to admit they were wrong.
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