A heated debate broke out on GB News today as director of Net Zero watch Andrew Montford slammed climate change as "scaremongering" and Environmental activist Donnachadh McCarthy accused him of being "bought and paid for" by oil companies.
Last month was the world's warmest March on record, extending the run of monthly temperature records to 10 in a row, it's fuelled concerns among some that the world could be tipping into a new phase of even faster climate change.
Speaking on GB News, Montford explained: "I think there are two elements are in play.
"Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and will tend to warm the planet. It's very difficult to say anything from temperature records, in particular surface temperature records. Which are rather dodgy.
The row got heated as they argued over whether climate change is worse
GB News
"In the past temperature records are always changing because they're always adjusting them. It suggests that the data isn't very good.
"I think there are many factors that are changing the temperature, but the idea that we have some sort of a climate emergency going on is, frankly, just scaremongering. It's a fairy story. Things aren't getting worse at all. If you actually look at the official reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, they find almost no changes in any meteorological phenomena at all, apart from heat waves and average temperatures."
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He added: "All these things that we are led to believe are wrong, forest fires aren't getting worse they are getting better. Fire weather is not getting worse. Hurricanes are not getting worse. Floods are not getting worse.
"This is causing great damage to society because we are making very foolish policies and decisions based on scaremongering and that is always a poor basis for policy."
McCarthy said: "That's not fair. I come in with science and actually what Andrew Montford comes on with is American billionaire-funded propaganda.
"He is a national security risk to the United Kingdom. He is funding an effort to stop Britain from acting to protect its national security.
It was the hottest March on record
GETTY
"The lies about flooding are extraordinary. We have a 77 per cent rise in rainfall. That's exactly what is happening in Britain. You talk to any farmers who have been flooded for the last six months when we had 200 per cent more rain this winter than normal.
"Speak to those farmers and ask them, is there an emergency? It's absolutely outrageous.
"What Britain needs to do is ignore people like Andrew, who are propagandists for the oil industry, and do two things.
"We need to invest in renewable energy and stop the banks investing in new fossil fuels, which are damaging Britain. Secondly, we need to stop providing the global industry with new fossil fuels. If we tackle that one thing, Britain could make a huge contribution to this effort to protect ourselves,"
Montford then demanded: "Tell me which oil company funds me. Come on, let's hear it."
GB News host Andrew Pierce agreed: "You made a very serious charge that he's in the pay of oil companies. Andrew's entitled for you to name the oil company that's paying him."
McCarthy then said: "What I said is only billionaires are funding him.I don't have the names in my head right now. I can provide them to you.
"Do you think it's right that Britain's policy, should be directed by a think tank that won't declare who their funders are? If Andrew can declare his funders, great, then he should be allowed here to speak."
