Green organisations complain to the BBC regarding irresponsibility of questioning on climate change in leadership debate
A group of over 30 organisations and individuals including Chris Packham, Possible, WWF, the Green Alliance and Greenpeace have written a letter to the BBC regarding the irresponsibility of questioning on climate change during the leadership debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
During the debate candidates were asked ‘what three things should people change in their lives to help tackle climate change faster’ - a question which the letter decries as completely irresponsible for focussing on individual action rather than governmental action when the purpose of the debate was to test the candidates’ credentials for being the next prime minister.
The organisations argue that there were a huge range of substantive issues which a potential prime minister could have been asked about climate change. In recent weeks, the Committee on Climate Change reported that the UK was not on track to meet net zero, and the high court found the government’s net zero strategy “unlawful”. Just one week ago, the UK experienced blistering, 40C heat that meant the UK fire service had its busiest day since the blitz. Yet rather than asking a question on policy, the BBC asked a question about what viewers at home should do.
In 2021, the BBC signed up to The Climate Content Pledge, which meant they committed to ensuring their content helped their audience understand what tackling climate change really meant and inspire more sustainable choices.
An excerpt from the letter reads:
“The purpose of a leaders' debate is to interrogate our future Prime Minister on their policy positions for vital issues so the public can make an informed choice about which candidate will do the best job for their country - this question failed to provide them with those answers. For this to happen at a time when the cost of living is driving millions into poverty, largely driven by fossil fuel prices and rising energy bills, is unacceptable.”
Max Wakefield, director of campaigns at climate charity Possible, said
“In 2019 Possible campaigned for the televised leaders election climate debate because broadcasters were ignoring the severity of the climate crisis. Three years later, little has changed. Instead of asking Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss how they would patch the gaping holes in their climate plans, the BBC posed a question on what individuals can do at home. Prime Ministers are not elected as agony aunts: we don’t need to hear their domestic eco-tips any more than their personal wellness ideas for managing NHS waiting lists. What the public needs is to hear how the next Prime Minister will tackle the climate crisis head on.”
The letter calls for three actions from the BBC:
That they will improve their coverage of the climate crisis in subsequent leadership coverage in the next few weeks.
That they recognise that the question in the debate was inadequate, and the time allocation was too short.
And finally, a guarantee that at future leadership debates, including in general elections, climate change will be treated as an issue of governmental, not solely personal responsibility.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
You can find the full text of the letter and full list of signatories HERE.
For media enquiries and further information please contact press@wearepossible.org or 07806431577.
Possible is a UK-based charity that brings people together to take positive, practical action on climate change. Combining individual and local actions with larger systemic change, we connect people with each other, and communities with ways to address the climate crisis. wearepossible.org.
Possible changed its name from 10:10 Climate Action on 10th October 2019.