A group of environmental organizations and campaigners have written to the BBC to rebuke it for inadequately fielding questions about the climate crisis during Monday’s Conservative leadership debate.
Only one environmental question was asked during the debate, and it put the onus on the people, not the leaders, to act on the climate.
Candidates were asked: “What three things should people change in their lives to help tackle climate change more quickly?” Rishi Sunak emphasized recycling, while Liz Truss extolled the benefits of green technology.
In a letter, campaigners, including Springwatch presenter Chris Packham, said the question was “completely irresponsible” as it focused “on individual action, not government action, when the purpose of the debate is to test the credentials of the candidates for next Prime Minister “.
The letter, also signed by the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace and the Green Alliance, said: “The aim of the leaders’ debate is to question our future Prime Minister about their policy positions on vital issues so that the public can make an informed choosing which candidate will do the best job for their country. This question failed to give them those answers.
“For this to happen at a time when the cost of living is driving millions into poverty, largely driven by fossil fuel prices and rising energy bills, is unacceptable.”
During the debate, as much time was devoted to discussing Sunak’s expensive suits and shoes and Truss’s earrings as to the climate crisis and the environment.
Max Wakefield, director of campaigns at climate charity Possible, said: “In 2019, Possible campaigned for the TV leaders’ climate election debate because broadcasters ignored the seriousness of the climate crisis. Three years later, little has changed. Instead of asking Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss how they would patch the gaping holes in their climate plans, the BBC asked what people can do at home.
“Prime Ministers are not elected as agonistic aunties: we don’t need to hear their domestic eco-advice any more than their personal health ideas for managing NHS waiting lists.” What the public needs is to hear how the next Prime Minister will tackle the climate crisis head on.
The letter calls on the BBC to improve its focus on the climate crisis in its leadership coverage over the next few weeks and to admit that the issue in the debate was inadequate and the time allocation too short.
It also requires the broadcaster to ensure that in future leadership debates, including before a general election, the climate crisis is treated as a matter of government rather than solely personal responsibility.
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A BBC spokesman said: “We agree that climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the next Prime Minister and it is a subject that BBC News covers extensively.
“This debate was intended to question the candidates about their differences in policy, their character and the impact their premiership would have on the lives of the general public, and as such included a question specifically about climate change expressed in the actions that all we can take to mitigate its effects.
“We will continue to cover the leadership race and question the candidates on their policies, including on climate change.”
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