Nigel Farage clashed with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg over net zero in a fiery interview this morning. The presenter pressed the Reform UK leader on whether he believes in climate change.
But the Clacton MP argued that it was “absolutely mindless for a country that produces less than 1% of global CO2 to beggar itself”. Asked during an appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg if he believed in “man-made climate change”, Mr Farage said: “Do I believe there’s climate change? Yes. Does man have an influence? Impossible to think we haven’t got some influence as to what proportion it is I’ve no idea.”
Pressed again, he said: “This is not my religion, this is not my religion, I know it’s the religion in Westminster now in a fairly godless age.
“The real point about it is are we going to deindustrialise Britain? There are 2.5 million manufacturing jobs left in Britain that are under threat and could be gone in the next decade unless we change direction, and that particularly relates to energy policy.”
The host highlighted that it was the consensus among scientists that human activity has had a “significant” impact on the climate.
Mr Farage replied: “Well, say it does. Is that sufficient reason to defraud British taxpayers of billions of pounds every year, which is what we’re doing, in subsidising wind energy and solar energy for literally zero effect on global CO2 emissions?
“The same goes for closing our steel plants and moving the production to India. We’ve got ourselves stuck in this mindset. We believe that man has an influence on changing the climate, I didn’t deny that, I think man does.
“But whether that’s a reason to transfer manufacturing to other parts of the world, to have the most expensive energy prices for industry in the world and to make the poor poorer in society for almost no benefit whatsoever. I doubt it.”
Told that “plenty of people would disagree”, he added: “What about those that have lost their jobs in traditional industries and those that are threatened?
“We are going to need huge amounts of steel, for example, over the next few years. We are going to need vast amounts of copper wire over the next few years.
“We’re just not making this stuff here any more and we haven’t actually helped reduce global CO2 emissions, we’ve just exported it.”
Mr Farage added: “It is absolutely mindless for a country that produces less than 1% of global CO2 to beggar itself.”
It comes after Reform UK mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns said she does not believe in climate and blasted the drive to net zero as a “money making racket”.
Reform has pledged to abandon the 2050 target if it wins power at the next general election.
