What evidence have academics cited to accuse Reform UK and Nigel Farage of promoting climate misinformation?
Executive summary
Reform UK and Nigel Farage have been accused by academics of promoting climate misinformation primarily on the basis of repeated public statements that contradict scientific consensus, party policy pledges to scrap net‑zero targets, and links to known climate‑sceptic networks and media amplification that researchers say spread misleading claims [1][2][3]. Critics point to specific quotations by Farage dismissing CO2 as a pollutant and repeating debunked claims about the drivers of warming as concrete evidence of misinformation [4][5].
1. Background: the political context academics are addressing
Academics frame their critique against a backdrop in which Reform UK has made opposition to the UK’s net‑zero 2050 target a central plank of its platform and where Nigel Farage has sought to make climate scepticism a voter issue; these policy positions and campaign pledges are documented in reporting on the party’s agenda [2][6]. The Grantham Research Institute and affiliated LSE commentary have specifically catalogued the party’s rhetoric and policy aims as the subject of scholarly concern [7][1].
2. Verbal claims singled out as misinformation
Scholars and commentators cite explicit public lines from Farage and other Reform figures as evidence — notably Farage’s remarks that it is “absolutely nuts” to call CO2 a pollutant and his recurrent claim that only roughly three percent of CO2 is man‑made — which researchers say misrepresents the science and is factually misleading [4][5]. Academics point to these quotations as representative instances where political messaging departs from IPCC and mainstream scientific findings about anthropogenic warming [5].
3. Party policy as a vector for misleading narratives
Beyond individual remarks, academics highlight Reform UK’s policy commitments — campaigning to abolish net‑zero targets, accelerate fossil‑fuel extraction, and tax renewables — as institutional channels through which climate misinformation becomes embedded in party politics and public debate [1][2]. Researchers argue that framing climate action as economically irrational or “lunacy” serves a political narrative that downplays established climate risks [8][9].
4. Channels of amplification: media roles and broadcast platforms
Academics note that Farage and Reform have channels that amplify contested claims: both Farage and Richard Tice have had media platforms and programmes that critics say functioned as informal party broadcasts filled with misleading climate assertions [1]. Commentators also document instances of Farage repeating sceptical claims at public events and conferences, increasing their reach beyond party audiences [5][4].
5. Networks and foreign influence cited by researchers
A further strand of academic concern is the documented association between Reform UK and transatlantic denialist groups; reporting identifies the Heartland Institute and U.S. climate‑sceptic networks as advising or engaging with Reform, a linkage scholars use to argue that organised misinformation playbooks are influencing party strategy [10][11]. Academics interpret these ties as evidence that party messaging aligns with established climate‑denial playbooks rather than isolated rhetorical slips [10].
6. Impact: why academics say this matters for democracy and public trust
LSE academics and affiliated commentators assert that the spread of misleading claims from high‑profile politicians undermines public trust in climate science and democratic decision‑making about long‑term policy, because voters receive contested factual premises on which major energy and infrastructure choices are debated [1][7]. They warn that normalising scientifically inaccurate statements in mainstream politics can distort policy debates on net zero and energy security [2].
7. Caveats and alternative perspectives
Sources also reflect nuances: some reporting notes that Farage has at times been more circumspect than other Reform figures, and that the party may be moderating public messaging because the electorate broadly supports green action — an interpretation academics acknowledge when weighing intent versus rhetoric [7][8]. Scholars differ on whether Reform’s climate scepticism is central to its appeal compared with immigration policy, and some analysis suggests denialism is concentrated among particular leaders rather than uniformly embraced by all supporters [7][1].
Conclusion
Academics accusing Reform UK and Nigel Farage of promoting climate misinformation base that charge on a combination of repeated public misstatements that contradict scientific consensus, party policy plans to dismantle net‑zero commitments, the use of media platforms to amplify sceptical claims, and documented links to established climate‑skeptic organisations; researchers argue these elements together constitute a coordinated pattern of misinformation that risks skewing public debate [4][1][10]. Reporting provides clear examples and networks that academics cite, while also recording debate over how central climate denialism is to Reform’s electoral appeal [7][8].