Paul A. Nuttall is a historian, author and a former politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2019 and was a prominent campaigner for Brexit.
Every time there is a so-called ‘freak’ weather event, we hear from politicians and scientists about how it is down to climate change. But my time as an MEP showed me how the issue is hijacked to further individual interests.
London, like parts of Germany and China, has suffered a series of flash floods over the past few weeks. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, warned that the recent flash flooding “shows that the dangers of climate change are now moving closer to home.”
In an article penned for the Guardian newspaper, Khan also stated that the recent flooding “should be a wake-up call, spurring us all to take much more ambitious climate action.” Of course, Khan has a motive for linking the recent floods to climate change, as he is committed to making London carbon neutral by 2030. He plans to achieve this by pushing through a series of controversial measures, including even more cycle lanes, which have already turned London into a car park, and by extending the expensive ultra-low emission zone.
For politicians like Khan to get their way, the public has to accept that these floods are a recent phenomenon, and primarily caused by man. We all must be prepared to self-flagellate. People also must believe that London has never flooded before, because that would negate many of Khan’s arguments.
It is like some wacky Jedi mind trick: “This is the first time London has been flooded, and it is all a result of man-made climate change.” Oh, but hang on, Obi Wan Khan, London has flooded before – in fact, it has flooded loads of times. In the last century alone, London suffered serious flooding on many occasions, with 1928 and 1968 immediately springing to mind.
But it is not just last week’s floods that are being blamed on man-made climate change, it is also the recent heatwave. The Met Office head of civil contingencies, Will Lang, warned that “as a result of climate change, heatwaves are becoming longer and more extreme, and many people’s health and wellbeing will continue to suffer as a result.”
Now hang on Will, hasn’t there always been intermittent heatwaves in the UK? I remember the heatwave of 1990. I was a schoolboy and had a great summer playing cricket and tennis. In August 1990, temperatures hit almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the previous record which went all the way back to the heatwave of 1911.
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Also, I was born in 1976, which is famous for its heatwave and drought. That year represented the driest in over 250 years and rivers literally became trickles of water. It did not rain between May and September and hosepipe bans were imposed. However, was the 1976 heatwave blamed on man-made climate change? No, of course not, because these same climate ‘scientists’ were not worried about warming back then, they were warning of global cooling and the onset of another ice age. They are, of course, now busy trying to row back on the theories, but it still represents an inconvenient truth, if you don’t mind the pun.
The point I am trying to make is that none of these recent weather events is unique. They have happened before, and in our recent history. But if we go back even further, say to the medieval warm period, we find grapes being produced as far north as Scotland and we also know that the climate was warmer during the Roman period. And why was this? Julius Caesar’s gas-guzzling 4×4 perhaps? Of course not, it was all natural and mainly to do with the big yellow thing in the sky that we call the sun.
It is not just politicians who are using the man-made climate change hypothesis as a weapon; the media are equally culpable. Take, for example, the fact that April this year was the coldest since 1922, and the first week of May was the coldest since 1659. Did you see this sprayed all over the mainstream media? Of course not, because it does not fit with the warming agenda. If they had been the hottest weeks or months for a number of years, we would never have heard the end of it.
And when mainstream media outlets don’t play the game, they are forced to apologise. Take for example the fact that the RTÉ News and Current Affairs Managing Director Jon Williams had to say sorry for not linking the recent flooding to climate change. Williams said, “we were wrong not to make clear connection between recent extreme weather events and climate change.” You must be a good boy Jon, or you’ll be subjected to a lecture from Greta.…
We were wrong not to make clear connection between recent extreme weather events & climate change. Sin of omission & reported in good faith. But truth matters. So when we get it wrong, we should say so. Lesson learned. Work to do. https://t.co/EEcMi1VEy1
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) July 26, 2021
Now I have, in the past, been called a “climate change denier.” This was a cheap shot because I am not, far from it. I believe that the climate has always changed, but I am not convinced by how great man’s role has been in that change. What I do know is that that the issue is being used by cynical politicians to further their own agendas. I saw all this first-hand when I sat on the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. You see, climate change is used as a principal reason why we need supranational organisations like the European Union. “The climate knows no borders”, you hear repeated as if it were a cult. It gives the organisation a reason to exist.
The United Nations takes a similar line, and yesterday we had the toe-curling spectacle of Joyce Msuya, the assistant secretary general of the UN, claiming that Covid-19 was somehow linked to climate change. Now, as someone who is sitting here writing this article with Covid, I guarantee the dreary weather outside has absolutely nothing to do with my condition.
The one thing I can guarantee is that if you give a politician an inch, they will take a mile. Especially when they are backed by well-funded scientists and given a free pass by the cowed media. But this should not be the case. The science around man-made climate change is far from settled and the theories should be tested through rigorous debate. This is sadly not the case, as those who make an alternative argument are shouted down and abused. And that is why the climate alarmists can freely omit historical weather events to prove that what is happening now is unique, when it clearly is not.
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
