DEBUNK: 🎅 Seasonal Smog! 🎄
This year we’ve seen a wave of false claims from opponents of climate action exploiting the Ukraine war & energy crisis to push fossil fuels.
Here are the top 6 bogus climate claims of 2022 - & the evidence for why they're wrong.🧵 #DeBunk
1. Net Zero
Climate deniers pushed the false idea that net zero policies caused the energy crisis
In fact, it's caused by the high wholesale price of gas, hiked by the Ukraine war.
Timely climate action could’ve saved households billions. @DrSimEvans carbonbrief.org/analysis-cutti…
2. ‘Solar & wind vs food’
In 2022 some MPs falsely claimed more onshore wind & solar farms would threaten farming
In fact, renewables plans would use 0.32% of UK land (0.02% wind + 0.3% solar). 71% of UK land is currently used for agriculture @DefraGovUK eciu.net/media/press-re…
3. Fracking
This year climate deniers, media & MPs pushed for fracking “to cut energy bills”. PM Liz Truss adopted this policy.
In fact, shale gas would be sold at (high) global prices. Renewable energy is 9x cheaper.
(... & fracking causes earthquakes) theguardian.com/environment/20…
Fracking was a key demand of the network of backbench MPs & activists around Global Warming Policy Foundation who oppose net zero & push fossil fuels.
5. Coal.
Michael Gove claims the newly approved coal mine in Cumbria is needed to produce steel for UK use.
In fact, UK steel industry figures say 90% of its coal would be exported due to high levels of sulphur &the shift to greener ways to produce steel theguardian.com/environment/20…
Gove also claims carbon offsets will make the new Cumbria coal mine “net zero”.
In fact, it will emit 400k tonnes of greenhouse gas per year (= to 200k cars) before the coal is even burned.
Carbon offset experts call Gove’s claim “nonsense”. theguardian.com/environment/20…
6. Sun & wind
This year saw claims renewable energy “does not work” because the amount of sunlight & wind varies.
In fact, wind & solar can generate majority of energy cheaply & reliably, supported by storage & other sources. Graphic: @NationalGridESO iea.org/news/renewable…
If you enjoyed this #DeBunk round-up of some of 2022’s false climate claims, share this thread & follow @DeSmog for more.
NEW: DeSmog analysis reveals delay tactics used by Big Ag against EU laws to protect birds and bees.
Findings come days after pressure from the pesticide and agribusiness lobby successfully stymies major green reforms, according to @ARC2020eu 1/ desmog.com/2022/12/21/sow…
The world’s four largest pesticide firms have spent over €20 million lobbying officials and the public since 2020.
On Monday, Europe conceded on calls to reassess pesticide reductions, in what campaigners call a major win for industry. 2/
Big Ag has employed tried and tested tactics from the fossil fuel lobby to resist the biodiversity measures, from funding research on the cost of transition to suggesting reforms are anti-science.
DEBUNK: Lord David Frost has joined the Global Warming Policy Foundation as a trustee during COP27. He claims it gives an “objective view” of climate change.
In fact, GWPF is a climate science denial group with a pro-fossil fuel agenda. Here's the evidence: 🧵1/ #DeBunk
Lord Frost was welcomed to GWPF by founder & honourary president Lord Nigel Lawson.
During COP26, Lawson declared “global warming is not a problem”.
He also defended fossil fuels, & falsely claimed CO2's “principal effect” is the growth of plants desmog.com/2021/11/04/glo… 2/
Despite Lord Frost's claim the GWPF provides an “objective view” on climate, the group actively promotes climate science denial.
In September alone it published two reports rejecting climate science on the greenhouse effect.
(See @IPCC_CH for reliable information.) 3/
The Global Warming Policy Foundation has announced that Conservative peer and former Brexit chief negotiator Lord Frost has joined the organisation as a trustee.
Hartley-Brewer suggested warming up to 2.8 degrees would not “necessarily be an issue”.
But @IPCC_CH has said more intense heat, rain, drought & fires are already damaging the lives of millions of people & ecosystems. More warming will make this worse. ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ 3/
Last month @nickcunningham1 reported on opposition to a blended hydrogen/gas project by Oregon’s largest gas utility. Now, NW Natural has withdrawn its application “in order to conduct additional stakeholder outreach" desmog.com/2022/10/17/nw-…
The environmental and social justice groups cited a long list of problems with hydrogen blending, starting with the fact that it is an extremely expensive way to try to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
And they pointed to environmental justice concerns about the hydrogen/gas project's proposed location in a working class neighborhood of Eugene, OR, with a higher percentage of communities of color that's already home to toxic industries.
Recently surfaced writings show self-styled "philosopher" and fossil fuel advocate @AlexEpstein had written about the "superiority" of western culture and blamed Martin Luther King Jr. for an increase in "Black crime" desmog.com/2022/04/07/ale…