Coverage of the climate crisis in the media is usually pushed to the margins and framed to deflect serious attention to it. The BBC seems to be on a mission to normalise it, to make it background. The tabloids mix oh goody, we’re going to be “Hotter than Morocco” front pages with shrieking calls for the “Eco Mob” to be banged up so we can enjoy the snooker (or whatever) and weird articles in rightist broadsheets like the Telegraph that spread misinformation – their latest that solar panels becoming less efficient at above 25C is a fatal flaw, not the marginal problem that it actually is – in that peculiarly gloating tone always used by people trying to take refuge from a changing reality in a timeless common sense that has actually long past its expiry date.

In the face of all this, its worth having a go at times, so…

My complaint to the BBC (The World Tonight).

You reported on Antonio Gutierez’s warning that the world is heading for a 2.8C average temperature increase, with all that follows from that, without seriously addressing it – and then didn’t seriously address it. There was no follow up. No comment from anyone else. It was then not referred to again during the summary of the news in the middle and end of the programme.

On any objective judgement, this was overwhelmingly the most significant item on the news and should have been treated as such. None of the other issues threatens the whole of human civilisation within the lifetime of children living now. Simply reporting the warning then treating it as somewhat less significant than the well merited demise of Boris Johnson, or the sad death of Glenda Jackson, is part of the process whereby a fundamental crisis in our civilisation becomes wallpaper, as if it is “something we have to get used to”, as one of your anchors put in in a previous programme, as if we are going to be able to, as if the crisis we are at now is going to stop there.

A warning like that should be stopping the clocks and making us sit up to deal with it, not passing quickly on to all the displacement activity we are busy with while we wait for things to fall apart around us. Could you please, please live up to your mission as broadcasters and treat this with the seriousness it deserves? Thank you

Their reply; which reads like stalling…

Thank you for contacting us and for sharing your concerns about The World Tonight, broadcast on June 15.

However, we’re not able to reply to your complaint without more information. If you could provide us with the specific time at which the relevant news item was heard, we may then be able to address your complaint.

If you’d like to listen back, we’ve provided a link to the programme below…

My response

You asked for details of when the item occurred in the programme. Its 5 minutes 50 seconds in. As the essence of what I was saying was that Antonio Gutierrez’s warning is something that should be taken seriously and be given far more extensive coverage – instead of being mentioned once then passed over in silence for the rest of the programme – the fact that you couldn’t find the clip rather illustrates my point. By contrast, diverting though it is, Boris Johnson’s latest shenanigans will barely be a footnote if there is anyone left to write History in 2100. I honestly despair of your coverage sometimes; like the way that Labour’s pledge to stop new oil and gas exploration on PM on Monday (about half way through) wasn’t debated in the framework of this being imperative but very difficult – leading on to a serious examination of what would need to be done to do it and what changes would need to be made – but a sneery and fatalistic dismissal from Evan Davies and his guest that it could be done at all. Perish the thought that this country might be able to rise to a serious challenge. Not your finest minutes.

The Metro Letters Page is full of letters that their authors think are “gotcha!” challenges, which are actually deflections from having to think through an issue that, if they took it seriously, would scare them shitless. Here’s one I responded to earlier.

Tuesday 6th June

Kate Taylor (Metro Talk Mon) says that demonstrators from Just Stop Oil are neither “moronic” nor “cowardly” . People cause greenhouse gases and the UK population today is 67 million and will be 77 million by 2050. World population today is 8 billion, up from 2 billion 100 years ago.

Will Kate Taylor and members of eco-groups pledge to have no more than one child, never to travel in a petrol/diesel vehicle, turn off their gas supply, take no foreign holidays, eat less meat, use no mobile phones nor electrical goods and never attend music festivals or sporting events? Eco talk is cheap.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow

Thursday 8th

Clark Cross (Metro Talk Tuesday) says “eco talk is cheap”. What he’s missing is that failure to act on the breakdown of our climate will be very costly in all respects, and sooner than we think.

On our current trajectory 2 billion people will be trying to live in an average temperature of 29C by 2030; including half the population of India.

So, while it’s a bit late for me just to have one child, I have to admit that I’m extremely grateful not to have any grandchildren (much though I’d love them) because the world we are heading for unless we make drastic changes will be a nightmare by the time they are adults.

So, whatever we can do we must do, as individuals and as a society.

Paul Atkin, London 

Friday 9th

Paul Atkin (Metro Talk, Thurs) says “we must do all we can as individuals and a society” to fight climate change. The oil, gas and coal-rich countries are still exploiting their reserves, while China, India and others have agreed only to “phase down” not “phase out” coal. What would Paul suggest the UK, with one per cent of global emissions, can do to penalise these countries before we all fry?

Clark Cross, Linlithgow

This was my reply that they didn’t print, perhaps because it poses questions outside any framework acceptable to them.

Clark Cross (Metro Talk Friday) suggests that the UK should “penalise” China and India before doing anything serious to avert climate breakdown on its own behalf. 

Leaving aside the suicidal quality of this, and awkward facts that India’s per person carbon footprint is a third that of the UK, and that China is the only country in the world investing in renewable energy on the scale needed – half the global total last year and 70% greater than the USA and EU combined – we are still left with historic responsibility.

This country became wealthy partly through burning vast quantities of coal. Our contribution to the greenhouse gases currently over heating the world is about 7% of the global total. Seven times our fair share. So, we have a responsibility to fulfil there; and we need to cooperate with the rest of the world to do it, not look for conflicts. Time is frighteningly short.

Paul Atkin, London