Tyndall Manchester invite you to attend the first of its re-launched seminars on ‘Understanding and responding to the backlash against climate policy in the UK’ by Prof. Matthew Paterson, on Thursday 10th November at 12.30pm.
This is a hybrid seminar, you are welcome to join in-person in Engineering A 3A.071 at The University of Manchester or via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/98871896278, Meeting ID: 988 7189 6278, Passcode: 302777).
Understanding and responding to the backlash against climate policy in the UK.
While there has always been opposition to climate policy in the UK, as elsewhere, it has been relatively small and ineffective compared to in other countries, and UK climate politics has been dominated for the most part by a strong cross-party consensus on climate change. Since 2020, however there have been increasing and more explicit groups organising to undermine climate action, both within and beyond climate policy. The key group in this is the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Conservative MPs. We can also see potentially significant impacts of this group and its strategies on the new government under Liz Truss. Drawing on a small project called ‘net zero populism’, funded jointly by Tyndall Manchester and the SCI, this presentation details the key elements in this new sort of anti-climate activism, and in particular their rhetorical strategies. It focuses both on the arguments they deploy in general, as well as on the key specific targets of their attacks, such as fracking, electric vehicles, or heat pumps. It draws out some conclusions about the character and strategy of this movement and the implications for those seeking to prevent their efforts to undermine climate action in the UK.
Speaker bio
Matthew Paterson is Director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, and Professor of International Politics. His work focuses on the global governance, the political economy, and the cultural politics, of climate change. His most recent book is called In Search of Climate Politics (CUP, 2021).
Please email raphael.tarpani@manchester.ac.uk to guarantee a seat if you plan to attend in-person.
Any queries can be directed to - rachel.e.lyons@machester.ac.uk.
We look forward to seeing you there. Please feel free to pass this invitation onto any colleagues who may be interested.
Speakers
Prof. Matthew Paterson
Role: Director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute and Professor of International Politics
Organisation: The University of Manchester
Biography: Matthew Paterson is Director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, and Professor of International Politics. His work focuses on the global governance, the political economy, and the cultural politics, of climate change. His most recent book is called In Search of Climate Politics (CUP, 2021).
