500 signatures reached
To: BBC news and current affairs (via BBC Complaints Department)
Get the BBC to stop giving an equal platform to climate change deniers
Ensure that discussion of climate change on news and current affairs programmes reflects the overwhelming consensus among climate scientists that global warming is man-made. This consensus is shared by about 19 out of every 20 climate scientists. So in other words, if BBC news and current affairs were to broadcast ten discussions with two different scientists, nine of those discussions would feature scientists who generally agree that climate change is man-made, and the discussion would focus on how best to tackle it. Every tenth discussion with two different scientists could then include a scientist who argues that it isn't man-made.
Why is this important?
A major reason why so many people in the UK think the science on climate change is "unproven" is that BBC news and current affairs give equal billing to climate change deniers as well as to climate scientists. This is detailed in The Guardian on Thursday 27th February: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/feb/27/bbc-false-balance-fox-news-global-warming
If the BBC stopped giving climate change deniers/sceptics an equal platform with scientists who believe climate change is man-made, it could be a game-changer in shaping UK public opinion on climate change. It could enable many more people to recognize that climate change is indeed man-made, and spur them to put more pressure on politicians to deal with it. The recent floods in England provide an excellent opportunity to strike while the iron is hot.
