GB News has transformed the debate on Net Zero and enabled dissident voices, according to a leading climate policy sceptic.
Andrew Montford, Director of Net Zero Watch, told GB News that this channel has “completely changed the landscape in that controversial views [and] dissenting views now get heard” on energy policy.
Montford, a sceptic of the government’s climate policies, slammed the media as being “pretty dreadful on Net Zero and decarbonisation” and in particular said “the BBC has been utterly disgraceful”.
He continued: “It got much worse after the Leveson report came along”.
The report called for regulation of the British press after the phone hacking scandal and led to the creation of IPSO, a regulator which newspapers can chose to sign up to.
Montford said that “environmentalists have used [IPSO] as a way to silence dissent, essentially”.
The Net Zero Director explained that “Every time somebody puts a critical article in the newspaper they issue a complaint and they don’t care whether they win or lose it”.
He continued: “The process is the punishment, and it’s put a lot of newspapers off allowing critical comment.”
Newspapers have to dedicate resources to challenging complaints made to IPSO, even if they eventually win.
“The broadcast media, or at least the traditional broadcast media are even worse,” Montford stressed.
He said the BBC “have basically not allowed anyone with any expertise on air to talk about these issues here”.
“They will allow general sort of, commentators to talk about [Net Zero and climate change], but they’re easily shot down.”
Montford cited a paper his organisation published which reviewed the BBC’s output on climate issues.
Net Zero Watch’s research analysed thirty instances of the BBC’s reporting which it claimed were “the most egregious misrepresentations of the facts”.
Montford described the BBC’s output as “comical” and “biased”.
However, the climate author said GB News had changed the media landscape in terms of reporting on Net Zero.
“And that that has been a blessed relief,” Montford said.
“I think we are going to see a retreat soon and I don’t think I don’t think anybody is going to be fooled.”
The anti-Net Zero campaigner predicted that if the energy price cap continues to increase then Keir Starmer will “look a fool and I think people are going to be pretty angry with him”.
In 2019 Theresa May enshrined into law that the UK would achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Net Zero policies have been controversial as critics say they drive up prices and have little impact on global carbon emissions.
However, advocates say they are necassry to fight climate change.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, vowed that the UK would take an international lead on Net Zero earlier this year.
