Yesterday Owen Paterson gave a speech to the GWPF, “Keeping the lights on”. The full transcript is here at GWPF and here at the Spectator with comment thread.
It’s getting quite a lot of publicity – perhaps the most high-profile expression of climate scepticism for some time. It was mentioned on the BBC Radio news, and Paterson was interviewed on the Radio 4 Today Programme. It has been covered at the BBC, Telegraph, Mail, though some of these articles were written before the speech was given, based on pre-released snippets. The Times (£) focuses on Paterson’s comments about alleviating poverty. Bishop Hill attended the talk and has a post on it.
The Green Blob has rallied its armies to attack Paterson, with all the usual suspects having a go, Bob Ward, Carbon Brief, Carbon Brief again. RTCC declares that it’s a debate but “not the one the public want”. The Committee on Climate Change has also responded. The Green Blob seems particularly reluctant to allow anyone to see what Paterson actually said. Carbon Brief, for example, have no link to the text of the speech – a link misleadingly entitled “Owen Paterson gives his views on climate and energy” links to the CCC criticism. Business Green has an interview with Ed Davey.
I think it’s also worth noting** that a representative of the “jewel in the crown, of British science and global science” (aka the U.K. Met Office), in this instance Mr. Nice Guy, Richard Betts, has (for whatever reason) launched one of his hallmark diversionary (?!) ‘let me find the least relevant/significant/OT point’ to cast and propagate tweet-aspersions on Paterson.
**See my comments – and Betts’ – at BH in The snail paper
Sorry … Pls make that a link that works (or at least is more likely to!): The snail paper