I had the privilege of being on GB News on Tuesday to discuss the dreadfully dishonest Badenoch speech tearing up 30 years of Tory commitment to climate protection.
And whilst we did not manage to get Jacob Rees-Mogg to drop any of his false accusations against the green energy transition, I came away feeling good about the following positives:
1. For the second time in a week, GB News put me on a panel with two other supporters of climate protection, making the balance in our favour 3 to 1, when so often in the past, I have been in the opposite role of being the only climate protector. (Thank you, Paul Powlesland – Lawyers for Nature and Rachel Solomon Williams – Aldersgate Group).
It would be great if this were a new pattern of GB News panels reflecting the balance of views of the public!
2. GB News tweeted a clip of the show with me in it, delivering my core message soundbite, rather than a tweet undermining me as they did in the past!
'Badenoch has broken the consensus—but on a dishonest premise!'@DonnachadhMc challenges Kemi Badenoch’s claim that green policies drive high UK electricity prices, arguing fossil gas is the real culprit. pic.twitter.com/jt1c766GZV
— GB News (@GBNEWS) March 18, 2025
It stated, “Badenoch has broken the consensus (on climate)—but on a dishonest premise!” @DonnachadhMc challenges Kemi Badenoch’s claim that green policies drive high UK electricity prices, arguing fossil gas is the real culprit.”
3. I was able to have a great conversation after with the CEO of the Aldersgate Group (association for UK corporates committed to green transition).
It was me lobbying her on the role of media leadership as per The Climate Media Coalition (CMC), and I was delighted that she totally got the issue and said we were focusing on a systemic issue, whilst the rest of the movement were merely trying to get better coverage.
4. I was able to refute Jacob Rees-Mogg’s endless untruths but not to get him to drop them this time.
BUT I do agree with him that the green transition MUST make bills cheaper for people on low incomes, who are low carbon polluters, and the investment must be paid for by the rich, who are high carbon polluters.
Some of the points I was making (or tried to make as he kept interrupting lol)
Badenoch has betrayed Thatcher’s legacy on climate – Thatcher was a Can Do Prime Minister on climate, Badenoch is a Can’t Do Leader of the Opposition.
UK electricity prices ARE expensive, BUT not due to cheaper green electricity but because the UK’s electricity prices are linked to THE most expensive electricity – fossil gas electricity. We must decouple price so consumers benefit from cheaper green electricity now on the grid.
The UK green economy is now employing one million people! And their average wage is £5,000 higher than the average wage, and it’s now valued at £83 billion!
Reducing CO₂ has NOT made us poorer or colder. UK GDP is up 150% since we started cutting CO₂ pollution thirty years ago and cut it 50% in that time. Insulated homes make us warmer and result in cheaper bills.
Every single form of electricity requires a backup, whether nuclear, fossil gas or renewables.
The cost of battery backup (£91/MWh) has now fallen to BELOW the cost of fossil gas electricity (£114/MWh).
There is a whole list of European countries that have more clean green electricity than the UK but have far lower electricity prices, as the EU average fossil gas link is 40%; in the UK, it’s the highest at 98%.
China is investing more in green electricity than the rest of the world combined, & coal usage in Jan/Feb 2025 is down 5.8%.
JRM’s allegation that all green jobs are dependent on subsidies is completely untrue – but there are some which deserve more subsidies (home insulation) and some which should have no subsidies at all, as they are Labour implementing Tory corporate socialism for oil & nuclear corporations. I did not manage to make this point.
So I hope you guys continue to feel this Climate Media Coalition project is worthwhile? Big thanks again to those who helped with research. Suggestions & moral/spiritual support – really appreciated.
And if you have a spare tenner, please do check out the Climate Media Coalition (CMC) new crowd-funder.
Love and courage
Donnachadh McCarthy x
@Climate-Media-C.bsky.social
@DonnachadhMc.bsky.social
