{"id":423404,"date":"2026-01-27T16:28:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T15:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423404"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T15:28:37","slug":"facts-over-fear-newspaper-editorial-shift-shows-climate-realism-breakthrough-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423404","title":{"rendered":"Facts Over Fear: Newspaper Editorial Shift shows Climate Realism Breakthrough in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Tower<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Climate Realism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anthony Watts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An article in the Carbon Brief (CB), \u201c<\/em>UK newspaper editorial opposition to climate action overtakes support for first time<\/em><\/a>,\u201d<\/em> documents a clear shift towards climate realism in the United Kingdom: for the first time since CB began tracking editorials, more UK newspaper editorials are expressing skepticism towards the climate alarmist narrative and questioning the wisdom of various policies imposed to fight climate change, than are endorsing climate disaster claims and restrictions on energy use. Whatever one thinks of CB\u2019s framing, the underlying trend it reports is real\u2014and it aligns with a broader, global rise in climate realism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figure below from CB clearly shows the shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graph<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note that shift began in 2022, with the steepest drop in alarmist articles and the biggest increase in articles endorsing a more realistic assessment of climate change and climate policies beginning in 2024 with the crossover complete in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internationally, The Heartland Institute\u2019s expanding global footprint has played a visible role in that change. The formal launch of Heartland UK\/Europe<\/a>, described in \u201cThe Heartland Institute Solidifies Its Global Impact by Founding Heartland UK & Europe,\u201d<\/a> reflects growing demand across the United Kingdom and Europe for fact-based critiques of climate alarmism and policy overreach. Heartland UK\/Europe\u2019s leadership under Lois Perry<\/a> has emphasized transparency, cost-benefit analysis, and the difference between measured climate trends and speculative worst-case modeling\u2014messages that resonate with editors and commentators increasingly wary of net-zero orthodoxy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That shift did not appear out of nowhere, it a clear result of the strategies that have been introduced by Heartland UK\/Europe coupled with growing international skepticism over the need for costly and disruptive \u201cclimate action\u201d policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A perfect example of an event driving that shift is the recent counter to the World Economic Forum in Davos<\/a> put on by The Heartland Institute, which announced:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Heartland Institute hosts the World Prosperity Forum January 19\u201323 in Zurich, Switzerland, bringing together international leaders and policymakers to challenge the globalist, leftist agenda advanced each year at the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the World Economic Forum promotes a centralized, top-down vision for the global economy, the World Prosperity Forum advances a prosperity-focused, freedom-focused vision rooted in free markets, individual liberty, and rising living standards.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, climate realism has gained ground as voters and policymakers have grown more skeptical of costly \u201cnet-zero\u201d mandates that promised but failed to produce sweeping benefits, instead delivering higher energy prices and grid fragility. The rollback or weakening of major federal climate initiatives during the Trump years\u2014combined with U.S. withdrawal from several symbolic international commitments\u2014punctured the aura of inevitability that once surrounded global climate governance. Since then, debate has widened, and the assumption that \u201cthere is no alternative\u201d to sweeping climate action has eroded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is notable that CB itself acknowledges in the article that most critical editorials are not disputing the existence of climate change, but rather questioning policy responses\u2014what it labels \u201cresponse scepticism.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That distinction is central to the rise of climate realism. Factual websites such as\u00a0Climate at a Glance<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Climate Realism<\/a><\/em>\u00a0are filled with data-driven examples showing that many headline claims about worsening extremes, accelerating sea-level threats, or imminent tipping points are not supported by long-term observations. The result has been a growing willingness among editors to challenge whether expensive climate policies are justified by the evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon Brief frames this trend as a \u201cbacklash,\u201d but another interpretation is that it reflects either or both the triumph of truth over falsehoods over time or a normal democratic correction. As claims of impending catastrophe collide with real-world outcomes\u2014stable or improving human well-being, declining climate-related deaths, and resilient economies\u2014media institutions are reassessing whether fear-based messaging still holds credibility. That reassessment is visible not only in the UK, but across Europe, North America, and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that sense, the Carbon Brief article unintentionally underscores a positive development: facts are beginning to compete with fear. Climate realism\u2014grounded in observed data, historical context, and economic reality\u2014is no longer confined to a handful of dissenting voices. It is increasingly part of mainstream debate, amplified by organizations like The Heartland Institute and Heartland UK\/Europe and reinforced by the growing body of evidence compiled at Climate at a Glance<\/em> and Climate Realism<\/em>. The world is noticing, and the media conversation is finally starting to catch up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An article in the Carbon Brief (CB), \u201cUK newspaper editorial opposition to climate action overtakes support for first time,\u201d documents a clear shift towards climate realism in the United Kingdom: for the first time since CB began tracking editorials, more UK newspaper editorials are expressing skepticism towards the climate alarmist narrative and questioning the wisdom of various policies imposed to fight climate change, than are endorsing climate disaster claims and restrictions on energy use. Whatever one thinks of CB\u2019s framing, the underlying trend it reports is real\u2014and it aligns with a broader, global rise in climate realism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":423412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wMVwvQVFPc2VmcjN5RHFOLXZyTk5rMy02N1MwUEZucEhaVHE3WlFpbEdaLXJJbjNNYzl2YWdkWFNrVWFfMFJvYzgxTFE1blNOUVZFNU1oZ1BIekV0MFVMMFFVcGh4VW1KYmxaQTNNSWczazV4ZXo3YVh2LTVGdVBydVhSVHRhSkJ1S3EtMTAyNHg2NTAuanBlZyIsInR4dCI6IkZhY3RzIE92ZXIgRmVhcjogTmV3c3BhcGVyIEVkaXRvcmlhbCBTaGlmdCBzaG93cyBDbGltYXRlIFJlYWxpc20gQnJlYWt0aHJvdWdoIGluIHRoZSBVSyIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.2qiCkYfUDMmnpKN6-1yTR_NJ34mHQce_uLgmUN-jRv8MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691823342,691834281,691818056,691818070,691837935,691835463,691818154,691827996],"class_list":{"0":"post-423404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-brief","9":"tag-climate-at-a-glance","10":"tag-climate-change","11":"tag-climate-realism","12":"tag-heartland-uk-europe","13":"tag-heartland-uk-europe-director-lois-perry","14":"tag-net-zero","15":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOsefr3yDqN-vrNNk3-67S0PFnpHZTq7ZQilGZ-rIn3Mc9vagdXSkUa_0Roc81LQ5nSNQVE5MhgPHzEt0UL0QUphxUmJblZA3MIg3k5xez7aXv-5FuPruXRTtaJBuKq.jpeg?fit=1460%2C927&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1M96","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":401758,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=401758","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":0},"title":"Britain Cooling on Global Warming \u2014 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#172","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On Episode #172 of The Climate Realism Show, we bring back the indefatigable Lois Perry, director of Heartland UK\/Europe and host of her own new show \u2014 The Lois Perry Show: A Bird\u2019s Eye View \u2014 to talk about all that and some of the crazy climate news of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Global warming\"","block_context":{"text":"Global warming","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=global-warming"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-12-182817.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-12-182817.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-12-182817.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-12-182817.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-12-182817.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":403252,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=403252","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":1},"title":"Climate Realism Is HOT in the UK \u2014 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#174","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Join The Heartland Institute\u2019s Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, Linnea Lueken, and Jim Lakely \u2014 along with special guest Matthew Wielicki \u2014 to discuss the coming Climate Lockdowns. We will also cover some of the crazy climate news of the week, including rap music being used to raise climate awareness among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Canada\"","block_context":{"text":"Canada","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=canada"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-19-121228.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-19-121228.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-19-121228.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-19-121228.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0Screenshot-2025-09-19-121228.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":430335,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=430335","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":2},"title":"Good News, CBS News Is Dialing Back the Climate Alarm, Media Matters Complains","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In the recent Media Matters piece \u201cCBS\u2019 leadership in broadcast news climate coverage is chipping away under Bari Weiss,\u201d the authors lament what they describe as a dramatic decline in climate coverage at CBS News. This shift is long overdue. CBS News appears to be recalibrating away from climate alarmism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"\u201cScience-based\u201d\"","block_context":{"text":"\u201cScience-based\u201d","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=science-based"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Good-News-CBS-News-Is-Dialing-Back-the-Climate-Alarm-Media-Matters-Complains.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Good-News-CBS-News-Is-Dialing-Back-the-Climate-Alarm-Media-Matters-Complains.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Good-News-CBS-News-Is-Dialing-Back-the-Climate-Alarm-Media-Matters-Complains.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Good-News-CBS-News-Is-Dialing-Back-the-Climate-Alarm-Media-Matters-Complains.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":408801,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408801","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":3},"title":"The Global Climate Tax is Here \u2014 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#178","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On Episode #178 of The Climate Realism Show, we\u2019ll dig into this disturbing and likely illegal UN power grab and cover the week\u2019s Crazy Climate News. Is climate change giving dolphins Alzheimer\u2019s? What the heck is \u201ccarbon butter,\u201d and how does it taste? Is Bill Gates the most dangerous man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"\u201cNet Zero Fund\u201d\"","block_context":{"text":"\u201cNet Zero Fund\u201d","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=net-zero-fund"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0Screenshot-2025-10-17-173019.png?fit=1200%2C670&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0Screenshot-2025-10-17-173019.png?fit=1200%2C670&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0Screenshot-2025-10-17-173019.png?fit=1200%2C670&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0Screenshot-2025-10-17-173019.png?fit=1200%2C670&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0Screenshot-2025-10-17-173019.png?fit=1200%2C670&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":434749,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=434749","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":4},"title":"Heatwave Horse Hockey \u2013 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#196","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Heartland Institute\u2019s Anthony Watts, Linnea Lueken, Sterling Burnett, Jim Lakely, and special guest Chris Martz will reveal the truth about this heatwave and also cover other Crazy Climate News of the Week, including using carbon capture to carbonate beer, and how we should not be worried about climate change\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Carbon capture\"","block_context":{"text":"Carbon capture","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-capture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Screenshot-2026-03-27-171149.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Screenshot-2026-03-27-171149.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Screenshot-2026-03-27-171149.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Screenshot-2026-03-27-171149.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Screenshot-2026-03-27-171149.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":420681,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=420681","url_meta":{"origin":423404,"position":5},"title":"IT’S OVER! US Out of UN Climate Regime \u2013 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#187","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a breathtaking and historic move by Trump \u2014 something that was simply unimaginable until it actually happened. On the first episode of The Climate Realism Show of 2026, The Heartland Institute\u2019s Jim Lakely, Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, and Linnea Lueken will discuss what this means for the future\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"66 international organizations\"","block_context":{"text":"66 international organizations","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=66-international-organizations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-09-175322.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-09-175322.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-09-175322.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-09-175322.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-09-175322.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=423404"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423414,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423404\/revisions\/423414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/423412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=423404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=423404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=423404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}