Andy Burnham's backbenchers are finally waking up to this danger – will the PM?
Findings are available in the analysis below.3 findings
We do not republish articles from Daily Express. Our findings are below, each quoting the words it is about. Read the full article on the outlet's own site.
In this comment piece Tim Newark tells readers that nothing can be done about climate change and that the current warming is a natural process running over millions of years. He also tells them the warming should be welcomed. Each of these claims contradicts the documented science that human emissions drive the warming and that cutting them limits further harm.
Makes a false claim about the science
Severe
“climate change is already here and there is nothing we can do about it”
Why this matters
Newark states as fact that "there is nothing we can do about it", meaning climate change.
The impression it gives
A reader believes action on emissions is pointless because climate change cannot be affected by anything people do.
The context
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is what limits further warming, and every increment of warming avoided reduces harm. This is the catalogued claim that it is too late and nothing we do can make a difference.
How we know
From our register of false climate claimsThe claim: It is too late to do anything about climate change; nothing we do now can make a difference. What the evidence shows: The IPCC finds that deep, rapid and sustained cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would slow global warming noticeably within about two decades, and that risks rise with every increment of warming, so every amount of avoided warming matters.IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report (2023), Summary for Policymakers, statement B.1 (opens in a new tab)
On the recordCutting greenhouse gas emissions is what limits further warming, and every increment of warming avoided reduces harm.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
“not a chimerical attempt to halt the process altogether”
Why this matters
Newark calls efforts to halt warming "chimerical", that is, impossible fantasy, and offers adaptation as the only option.
The impression it gives
A reader believes cutting emissions cannot change the course of warming, so only adapting to it makes sense.
The context
The documented record says cutting emissions limits further warming. The claim that halting it is a fantasy repeats the too-late claim in a new form.
How we know
From our register of false climate claimsThe claim: It is too late to do anything about climate change; nothing we do now can make a difference. What the evidence shows: The IPCC finds that deep, rapid and sustained cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would slow global warming noticeably within about two decades, and that risks rise with every increment of warming, so every amount of avoided warming matters.IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report (2023), Summary for Policymakers, statement B.1 (opens in a new tab)
On the recordCutting greenhouse gas emissions is what limits further warming, and every increment of warming avoided reduces harm.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Written straight
Climate change is already here, and cutting emissions is what limits how much worse it gets.
Makes a false claim about the science
Severe
“halt climate change, a process that has occurred over millions of years”
Why this matters
Newark describes the climate change the COP31 politicians are trying to halt as "a process that has occurred over millions of years".
The impression it gives
A reader believes today's warming is part of a natural process older than humanity, so human action has nothing to do with it.
The context
It is unequivocal that human influence, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. The claim matches the catalogued argument that the climate has always changed, so this warming must be natural.
On the recordIt is unequivocal that human influence, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Elsewhere in the article“Britain has sweltered in jungle heat then been coated with ice sheets”
“Today we are in an interglacial period with slight warming”
Why this matters
Newark presents the present warming as a feature of "an interglacial period", a natural phase between ice ages, and calls it "slight".
The impression it gives
A reader believes the current warming is a mild natural phase of the ice age cycle and not caused by people.
The context
The documented record attributes the warming to human influence, chiefly fossil fuel burning, not to the natural interglacial cycle.
On the recordIt is unequivocal that human influence, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Written straight
The climate has changed naturally over millions of years, but the warming happening now is caused by human emissions, chiefly from burning fossil fuels.
Makes a false claim about the science
Severe
“slight warming that should be welcomed as it greens the world, providing longer growing periods for crops”
Why this matters
Newark says the warming "should be welcomed" because it "greens the world" and lengthens growing seasons.
The impression it gives
A reader believes global warming is a net benefit for Britain and the world.
The context
Warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe. Saying it should be welcomed for its benefits is the catalogued claim that warming will be good overall.
From our register of false climate claimsThe claim: CO2 is plant food, so rising CO2 is good for the planet overall. What the evidence shows: Extra CO2 can boost plant growth, but NASA notes the benefit may be limited because plants adjust and the fertilisation effect diminishes over time, and CO2 is also the chief cause of climate change, whose impacts include rising seas and more severe weather.NASA, Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds (2016) (opens in a new tab)
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Written straight
Some places may see longer growing seasons, but warming is also making heatwaves, drought, heavy rain and fire weather more frequent or more severe.