The High Wycombe MP, who heads the European Research Group, which is credited with delivering a hard Brexit, has often hinted at his dislike of Green measures when he retweeted a report claiming the climate crisis is not happening. He said many green measures, including paying farmers to help the environment, are “against human life on Earth in the name of environmentalism” and said he would expand natural gas production in this country because there is no “short-term threat” from the climate crisis. “I’ve got a lot of people begging me to stand, so I’ve got to give it some serious thought myself,” he said of entering the race in the unlikely event Johnson is kicked out. Other politicians are surprised at the idea that a culture war over climate change could become part of any leadership election. Greens MP Caroline Lucas said: “Our climate cannot be a pawn in the psychodrama of the Tory leadership.” He added that a prime minister with Baker’s views “would be a disaster of incalculable proportions”. Baker was speaking to the Guardian after an event in parliament organized by the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a thinktank that has been described as one of the leading sources of climate skepticism in the UK and of which Baker is a trustee. Now, he said he would end the push for more wind and solar power, explaining: “They’re basically intermittent sources of energy. And so if we are going to maintain our standard of living and especially in industry, we have to cover these intermittent sources with something else.” Instead, he would increase the country’s use and domestic production of natural gas, although he admitted that he would support carbon capture and storage. “I think if the public found out that they were getting discounted gas on their energy bills because they had accepted shale gas extraction near their homes, I think that would be extremely popular with them,” Baker said. He said a local Indian restaurant in his constituency was struggling with its energy bills, adding that it might have to close if prices did not come down. The MP added: “If this is the price of our literal survival in the short term, people would understand, but the truth is we are in no danger in the short term.” Measures to stop wildlife extinction and to store carbon in the earth would also be threatened if Baker became prime minister. He would run on a platform to overturn plans to pay farmers for environmental conservation instead of food production, he said. “What I want are policies that can feed us all,” he said, adding: “That really includes growing food as something we do in the UK. And I fear that some of the policies being adopted are simply anti-life. It’s anti-human life on Earth in the name of environmentalism, and I want us to live thriving and full lives with a healthy environment around us.” The MP said “we are at risk from extreme green policies” and accused climate campaigners of being “scary children”. “I see it as child abuse, it’s wrong,” she said. He does not think the high emissions scenarios presented by the IPCC are likely to happen. “High emission scenarios are very often presented as a possible outcome,” he said, adding: “I used to manage risk as an aerospace engineer, and if a risk is catastrophic and frequent, you’d better do something about it now. But if a risk is catastrophic and infinitesimal, then just don’t do anything about it because it won’t happen.” His views do not match those of climate scientists. The third IPCC report, compiled by hundreds of scientists over several years and signed by most of the world’s governments, calls for action now to avoid climate catastrophe. He warned that 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming was not possible unless greenhouse gas emissions peaked by 2025 and said temperatures would soar above 3 degrees Celsius, with catastrophic consequences, unless policies were urgently strengthened and actions.
