Top 10 BBC Climate Change Fails

This week, Climate Rush activists were outside Broadcasting House asking them to be the Best Broadcaster on Climate Change, not a blinkered one. Here are the top ten times their climate coverage made us wince.

1. James Delingpole is more likely to appear on Question Time than a meteorologist.

Via Martin Robbins at the Guardian.

To quote science blogger Martin Robbins: "When the e-mails of climate scientists were hacked, this is the show that brought on Marcus Brigstocke to defend them against the conspiracy theories of Melanie Phillips. Question Time is, in short, a pretty miserable failure when it comes to informed debate."

Seriously. Sort it out.

2. Climate What?

All those great natural history films you have produced which somehow managed to forget the c word as if it wasn’t happening.

And then, when you did mention climate change in a natural history documentary on Africa (February last year) the BBC used really bad sources. It’s not as if decent scientific advice isn’t there for them to use.

3. Nigel Lawson is on the Today show. Again.

When, last month, much of Britain was dealing with floods, you thought it was appropriate to put world leading climatologist Brian Hoskins up against politician and writer Nigel Lawson.

There are all sorts of things we could say about Lawson's take on climate change, we'll go with a quote from Sir John Beddington, former chief scientific advisor: "misleading."

4. A-ha, so thats how BBC balance works

Via markavery.info

They even had to import a climate change sceptic from Australia last year because they couldn't find one in the UK.

5. Do the public need to know about environment agency cuts. Nah...

Via giphy.com

UK homes being left exposed to floods by Environment Agency job cuts shouldn't have been left for a Telegraph splash in January. Specialist journalists at the ENDS Report picked it up back in October.

Isn't keeping an eye on things like this and asking politicians about them what a public service broadcaster is for?

6. Just ask better questions

giphy.com / Via giphy.com

Okay, climate contrarians exist. They are part of British culture, albeit marginal. If the BBC must have them on, at least ask better questions. As George Monbiot put it in 2009 when the Today programme interviewed fringe Australian geologist Ian Plimer: “Let Plimer speak, but let his interviewers do some sodding research first.”

As well as the science, we badly need our journalists to quiz 'experts' about their funding and affiliations. We should all be ashamed that this petition asking the BBC to disclose the financial interests of people they interview has to exist.

And that goes for scientists as well as so-called 'sceptics.' Obviously. We want journalism, not cronyism. That's the point.

7. Distracting from urgency of climate change reports

Only this week, in a report previewing the up-coming IPCC report, you over-egg the dissent among scientists, rather than leading with the more important issues at stake.

8. Meanwhile Jon Snow bosses it

Via youtube.com

C4 news anchor Jon Snow heads to Greenland to put the report in the context of the melting polar ice cap.

9. Andrew Neil is not a serious voice on climate change

After scientists accused Andrew Neil of presenting partial data and discredited arguments, chair of the Commons' Science and Technology Select Committee Andrew Miller MP told the Guardian: “Given that the BBC's avowed mission is still to inform and educate, as well as entertain, it is remarkable that it allows presenters, like Andrew Neil, to repeat misinformed scientific arguments on climate change as though they were fact."

10. The BBC can be better! We know it is awesome!

We love the BBC! Watching Newsround and wishing for a Blue Peter green badge is part of what made us environmentalists. We still find ourselves continually inspired, entertained and informed by our beeb.

The odd Delingpole moment is just an aberration in what can be brilliant coverage of climate change. Give us the real news on climate change. The bad news stories, straight up, and all the good ones too, the inspiring stories of political action and new technologies.

You can follow the Campaign against Climate Change, and tell the BBC to cover the latest IPCC report findings as fact, not debate.