Tory MP John Redwood said his party colleague Alok Sharma, set to lead a vital climate conference in November, should focus on China and Germany, in the battle against climate change.
But he was met with resistance from online users, after suggesting the UK cannot afford the costs of tackling the climate crisis at a national level.
Tweeting today about his BBC Radio 4 appearance, Redwood said he was “finally allowed to say” that the Cop26 conference in Glasgow “must challenge China” to cut its “huge” carbon dioxide emissions.
He also called for Germany to close all its coal power stations and “level competition over fuel choice”.
‘How do we let the planet know?’
Redwood has also said that heat pumps, electric vehicles and vegetarian diets should not be encouraged through taxing people and said the shifts “can only go at the pace people are willing to accept”.
But one Twitter user asked him, “how do we let the planet and the climate know what pace we’d be able to manage?”
On BBC Radio 4 today finally allowed to say the COP 26 Climate Conference must challenge China to start cutting her huge output of CO 2 and Germany to close her coal power stations as the UK has done. Time to level the competition over fuel choice and cost.
— John Redwood (@johnredwood) August 9, 2021
The green revolution of heat pumps, electric vehicles and vegetarian diets can only go at the pace people are willing to accept. Governments need to persuade, not to try to tax and regulate people to do things they do not want to do or cannot afford.
— John Redwood (@johnredwood) August 9, 2021
Fine, John, but just answer this…
— OAP Nigel ? (@FearlessOAP) August 9, 2021
How do we let the Planet and the Climate know what pace we’d be able to manage?
‘Export markets domination’
Yesterday, Redwood focused in several tweets on China and Germany taking action.
He insisted “others will be reluctant to impose more costs and disruption on their economies” and said the UK “doesn’t want and afford” heat pumps.
The MP repeatedly complained about the two countries “dominating export markets” through coal burning and about China’s “advantage in making things to export to the rest of us”.
The two countries Alok Sharma should target in his push for net zero are China and Germany. Others will be reluctant to impose more costs and disruption on their economies all the time China and Germany get rich by burning more coal.
— John Redwood (@johnredwood) August 8, 2021
Why should UK people be told to fit expensive heat pumps they don’t want and can’t afford when China and Germany keep on burning coal on an industrial scale to dominate export markets?
— John Redwood (@johnredwood) August 8, 2021
The COP 26 Climate conference needs to secure a Chinese pledge to start reducing their output of carbon dioxide. The world’s biggest producer of the gas swamps smaller countries attempts to cut it, whilst giving China an advantage in making things to export to the rest of us.
— John Redwood (@johnredwood) August 8, 2021
UK acting on climate crisis is ‘the moral thing to do’
But he was told by Twitter users to ‘not forget India’, and that the UK should act on global heating regardless of what other countries do, because “morally it’s the right thing to do” and “our planet is irreplaceable”.
One Twitter user asked Redwood: “Why should UK people live lives of honesty and integrity when the prime minister constantly lies and his government acts with self-serving duplicity?”
Whilst another slammed Redwood’s tweets as “consistently wrong headed”. “We are heading for catastrophe and someone must lead the struggle to avoid it,” the post continued.
Not forgetting India. https://t.co/gCr8G5AOVz
— BeardedOne (@bearded1_one) August 8, 2021
Why should UK people live lives of honesty and integrity when the PM constantly lies and his government acts with self-serving duplicity? https://t.co/u79lgjg0Lc
— David Gullen is still wearing masks. (@derGullen) August 9, 2021
Because morally its the right thing to do our planet is irreplaceable… https://t.co/ksZK5wOrqp
— Keith Jackson (@keithj55) August 8, 2021
Tweets from @johnredwood occasionally appear on my feed. I am afraid they are consistently wrong headed. We are heading for catastrophe & someone must lead the struggle to avoid it. What on earth would he have done in 1940? https://t.co/z68vWxjeP2
— aconservativewrites (@aconservativew4) August 8, 2021
john redwood says the public are responsible for this.
— Sloane (@SloaneFragment) August 9, 2021
hint: unbridled capitalism is responsible for this. pic.twitter.com/QPYaXc2rRB
Couldn’t agree more John, they need to take a leaf out of our book. pic.twitter.com/6eomqCxg0p
— Lucky Man???? (blue tick pending) (@luckyma_man) August 8, 2021
Fine, John, but just answer this…
— OAP Nigel ? (@FearlessOAP) August 9, 2021
How do we let the Planet and the Climate know what pace we’d be able to manage?
Basic principle of the universe. If John Redwood says one thing we should do the exact opposite.
— Martyn Taylor (@martynwrites) August 9, 2021
What Redwood didn’t say
Redwood’s string of tweets seemed to completely ignore the fact that Alok Sharma said ahead of the Cop26 talks that the UK will continue supporting new fossil fuel projects.
Sharma also rejected controversies stemming from him allegedly travelling to 30 nations in seven months, whilst encouraging people to limit their carbon emissions.
The MP has also not addressed recent Brexit decisions to trade more heavily with countries in other corners of the world instead of relying as much on UK’s neighbours in the EU. The UK-Australia trade deal has been labelled as catastrophic for both the environment and animal welfare.
Liz Webster, who lives on a farm in Wiltshire with her husband, told The London Economic in June that the government is trying to deliver a “green Britain” whilst importing “nasty food” from countries far away from Britain.
She said: “They are trying to blindfold the British public by using this environmentalism and then they are importing food which has been produced under very low standards and is not environmentally friendly.”
Related: Tory tsar warns of climate catastrophy whilst backing fossil fuels
British public are being ‘blindfolded’ on post-Brexit trade deals, farmers warn
