Octopus Supports Tortoise to Promote Net Zero Sceptics

"Misinformation" database turns into showcase for Net Zero scepticism

Introduction

Last week my attention was drawn to a new project from Tortoise Media called Hot Air that purports to show how climate misinformation spreads. The project has been pulled together for them by the Centre for Climate Communication and Data Science (C3DS) at Exeter University and supported by Octopus Energy. They have identified three categories of what they term climate scepticism – Denial, Delay and Control.

Denial is asserting that climate change is not happening. Delay is acknowledging that climate change is real, but we should slow down the rollout of green policies. Control is claiming that climate policy is a way for government to control the population.

At first, I was nervous about what this new tool might say about me. However, after looking at it, they seem to have shot themselves in the foot, because they have created a showcase for some of the most popular climate and Net Zero sceptical material, including mine.

Sceptic Ranking

Helpfully, they allow interrogation of the database by author. At the top of the rankings are US authors like Tom Nelson, Steve Milloy and Alex Epstein. Campaign Group Net Zero Watch comes in at number four in the global rankings. The first UK individual named in the ranking is yours truly which is quite a badge of honour (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Leading UK Individual in Sceptic Rankings

What the Hot Air creators do not seem to have realised is they have inadvertently created a list of the most important people to follow if you have doubts about climate, energy or Net Zero policies. They should be commended for providing such a vital public service.

Acceptance is the New Denial

Tortoise’s Hot Air database gets even more interesting when you dig into what they classify as denial (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Acceptance is the New Denial

Apparently quoting a table taken directly from the latest IPCC report that shows very little evidence for more extreme weather out to 2100, even using RCP8.5 which is the most extreme modelling scenario, amounts to denial. Even acknowledging that warming since 1850 passed the supposed limit of 1.5^oC amounts to denial in the eyes of their AI models.

Making the Case for Delay

Tortoise and C3DS have classified most of the entries for yours truly in their Delay category (see Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Showcase for Octopus Misinformation

Ironically, this includes a post where I took to task the CEO of Hot Air supporter Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson because he argued that the shocking costs of “cheap” renewables should be hidden in our gas bills.

Many of the other entries give a platform to some of my more popular articles and posts (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Showcase for Best Work

These include a post challenging Octopus’ Director of External Affairs, Clem Cowton about her own misinformation claiming that renewables can deliver the cheapest power prices in Europe. Hot Air also shows a post with a chart from the Government’s own international energy price dataset that shows the UK had the highest industrial electricity prices in Europe. Tortoise is inadvertently making the case for Net Zero scepticism by claiming posts like this amount to misinformation.

Control Disinformation

Remember the objective of the Hot Air project was to show how climate misinformation spreads. Apparently, using an image from the Energy Act 2023 that shows how the Government wants to take powers to control EV charge points, batteries, heating, fridges, washing and drying machines and dishwashers now amounts to misinformation (see Figure 5).

Figure 5 - Demonstrating control through the Energy Act

It is quite remarkable that they classify quotes from actual statutes as misinformation.

C3DS Funding

C3DS claims their research “aims to improve strategic communications to deliver meaningful action on climate change.” In other words they aim to produce climate policy propaganda. We know from the Hot Air tool that this particular piece of work was supported by Octopus, which probably means they paid for it. However, it is also instructive to look at the funding of C3DS staff members. Professor Travis Coan is a director of C3DS and boasts of receiving over £1.2m in funding from the ESRC between 2016 and 2021. Professor Saffron O’Neill is a co-director of C3DS and claims to have been funded by ESRC, which is part of UKRI. UKRI is a government body, so essentially the government is funding this propaganda outlet.

PhD student Francisco Gonzales Espinosa is also funded by the UKRI and green tycoon Chris Hohn’s Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Simon James Puttock, another PhD student, is also funded by CIFF. The tentacles of the green blob are all too evident in C3DS.

Conclusions

Tortoise claims to be combating climate misinformation, but their project has classified posts containing official government data as misinformation. Inadvertently, they have made the case against Net Zero policies for us.

Essentially, the pink tentacles of Octopus Energy have intertwined with the green tentacles of the green blob to produce a valuable resource that pulls together in one place some of the best material that is sceptical about Net Zero. More power to their many elbows.

---

This Substack now has over 3,900 subscribers and is growing fast. This growth has meant the Substack is gaining recognition in other media. I was recently invited on to the Tom Nelson podcast, so head over to the Multi-Media section if you want to see it. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your family, friends and colleagues and sign up to receive more content.