North Dorset Liberal Democrats

MEP Condemns UKIP Over Climate Change Denial

Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson has written to a local South West newspaper branding UKIP a party of "Climate Change Deniers" who are happy to sit by and watch environmental devastation take its toll on the region and the rest of the world.

Responding to a series of letters from the Totnes UKIP Chairman, Watson attacked the claim that climate change has nothing to do with human activity and does not interest the public.

"Judging by recent encounters, UKIP base their beliefs on dodgy science paid for by George Bush and the oil industry, and on reports that the Arctic is still a bit icy!

"The truth is that 97% of climate experts say CO2 changes are man made and people want to see action. 81% of Brits want Europe to lead the way on the environment and last year around 400 people wrote to me with concerns about climate change.

"UKIP are out of touch. At the heart of their thinking lies a fear of a changing world and of cooperation with others. They would have a Britain that is isolated, radioactive and under water."

Ends.

Editors Notes:

• Graham initially wrote to the Western Morning News on 14 Sept thanking 28 anonymous Totnes residents for their petition regarding climate change and developing countries. Peter Wyatt, Chairman of the Totnes UKIP said this showed Graham had 'very little support and is reduced to writing letters to the papers claiming public support in the hope that the Copenhagen

Conference in December will produce a successor treaty to Kyoto different to the negative progress made so far".

• Graham has responded with this letter:

Dear Sir,

Peter Wyatt shows just how out of touch both he and UKIP are with public feeling when it comes to confronting climate change and protecting the environment ("UK Cannot Submit to Emissions Bribery" 22 Sept).

My letter of 14 September had the sole intention of acknowledging and reassuring the 28 Totnes residents who had written to me without contact details; it was certainly not meant as an indication of support for action on climate change.

Looking back through my records, I would estimate that since last year, around 400 people have written asking me to support a strong international deal on climate change and around 600 concerning environmental standards in general. This is in addition to the hundreds of people I have spoken to who want Europe to take a leading role in cleaning up the environment.

Recent research has also shown that 81% of Brits want Europe to take the lead on tackling climate change.

Mr Wyatt and UKIP are essentially "Climate Change Deniers". Their policies and ideas are based on a few reports funded by the oil industry and the Bush administration, not to mention Mr Wyatt's own rather shaky arctic weather observations.

At the core of UKIP thinking is a fear of acknowledging the new challenges that Britain and the World face, because they are even more scared of international cooperation!

So they cover their eyes and ears, call for a raft of new nuclear power stations, and hope for the best.

That is not what the public want. They believe the 97% of climatologists who say that climate change is man made and will have a devastating impact on the world. They want politicians to take action and they want Europe to lead the way.

That is what I want too. The world faces new and pressing challenges that will only be met by working with our neighbours and other countries. As an MEP for the South West, I am committed to pressing for European and global cooperation in tackling climate change.

It is time that people woke up to the kind of Britain that UKIP want; one that is isolated, radioactive and under water.

Yours faithfully,

Graham Watson MEP

• "Flash Eurobarometer: Attitudes towards the EU in the UK" Published July 2009;

"Most citizens in the UK acknowledge that the EU has a role in tackling some of the most pressing topical issues- each of them having clear international dimensions

The Union's role was most widely acknowledged in the protection of human rights (85% felt the EU had a role), in tackling climate change (81%), in countering international terrorism (79%) and dealing with the financial crisis (78%). Three-quarters thought the EU had a role to play in tackling global poverty and 72% in preserving the security of energy supplies."

The full report can be accessed here http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_274_en.pdf

• "Secure Energy, Better Environment: An energy and environment policy for an independent Britain"

UKIP's Policy Statement on Energy and the Environment highlights their attitude towards climate change and enthusiasm for nuclear power;

Section 3.2

"Whilst we accept climate change, and whilst global warming may be a threat, there is no agreement about its extent. Nor to the degree to which greenhouse emissions from humans are the cause. We believe that natural cyclical phenomena probably play a larger role in current warming than is commonly acknowledged, and it is therefore foolish at present to commit substantial resources and impose harsh restrictions in the cause of reducing CO2."

Section 11.4

"There are strong arguments for increasing nuclear generating capacity in the UK from the current level. Calculation suggests that Britain should aim for about 50% of UK electricity generating capacity to be nuclear based."

• The first statement obviously contradicts the opinion of the vast majority of scientists. In a review of literature ("Examining the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change"), University of Illinois Professors Peter Doran and Maggie Zimmerman questioned Climatologists on the causes of climate change. 75 out of 77 answered 'yes' to the following question; 'Do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing global temperatures?'