“Go for gas with all the vigour of a national war effort…” That was the take from Steve Baker on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Baker, the leading light of the backbench Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG), has seized on the war to push for the UK’s ban on fracking to be scrapped.
Ukraine is just their latest tactic. A few weeks ago it was the cost-of-living crisis, which they tried to pin on green policies. The NZSG has been active in influencing the climate debate, gaining widespread media coverage and some support from former ministers.
But these MPs have faced little “scrutiny” themselves. While they cloak their demands for more fossil fuel extraction in concern for their constituents’ household bills, the MPs have strong ties to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the UK’s leading producer of climate science denial and misinformation.
The NZSG has roots in the libertarian network behind the push for a “hard” Brexit, including the European Research Group (ERG), which Baker chaired. Many of the same politicians, think tanks and donors that backed Brexit are deeply involved in opposing climate action. Nigel Farage recently joined the fray with his campaign for a “net zero referendum”, an effort steeped in climate science denial.
The recent IPCC report noted the dangers of this misinformation, which it said “undermines climate science and disregards risk and urgency”, at a time when there is “a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”.
There is much to debate about climate action, but a serious discussion of the best route to net zero is impossible when public discourse is hijacked by ideologues and vested interests. The evidence is clear that, despite its claims, the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of MPs is allied with climate science deniers.
Below we bring together all the evidence about the NZSG in one place, with an interactive map and a new profile on the group in our climate disinformation database. We hope these resources help to inform media coverage of the NZSG and provide useful context about their campaigning.
New Group on the Block
English 
