Thread by @DeSmog

DEBUNK: Spiked columnist Ella Whelan made misleading claims about North Sea oil & renewable energy on a recent BBC Question Time.

Here is the evidence for why she’s wrong - and Spiked’s record of climate science denial & fossil fuel funding. 🧵 #DeBunk

Whelan suggested the UK government invest in “new exploration of North Sea oil” to grow the economy.

But @IEA says new oil projects would threaten climate targets to limit warming to 1.5C.

iea.org/news/pathway-t… 2/

Whelan claimed “wind turbines & solar panels are not going to keep us warm”

In fact in 2022
-renewables provided more UK electricity than gas in winter
@ECIU_UK
- 27% of UK electricity was from wind power @NationalGridESO
-Wind & solar = EU's top power source
@CarbonBrief 3/

Spiked was introduced as a “non-conformist” outlet on BBC Question Time.

In fact it's a libertarian outlet with a history of climate denial & opposing green policies.

E.g. In 2018 Spiked published “The Myth of a Climate Crisis” by denier Ben Pile. desmog.com/spiked/ 4/

Spiked claims to be independent, but between 2015-18 the website received $300k from the Charles Koch Foundation, an arm of oil giant Koch Industries & a major funder of climate denial.

desmog.com/2018/12/04/spi… 5/

Whelan has claimed to care about climate change.

But in the same interview, she said the “deluded idea of Net Zero” would mean a “dystopian” scenario in which “people have less, be more miserable, not heat your home, not eat what you want, not travel” 6/

Spiked writers are frequently hosted on mainstream media without mention of their history of climate denial & fossil fuel funding.

We hope this thread helps inform Spiked’s media role in future.
(See more in the@DeSmog profile here:
desmog.com/spiked/ ) 7/

If you enjoyed this #DeBunk of Ella Whelan & Spiked, share this thread & follow @DeSmog for more.

You can read about our DeBunk project here: desmog.com/2022/10/31/des…
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