Nigel Farage

Credentials

Dulwich College, 1975-1982. [1]

Background

Nigel Farage is a member of the European Parliament for the newly-formed Brexit Party, having been until recently led the UK Independence Party (UKIP), of which he was a founder member. Farage has cast doubt on the scientific consensus surrounding human-caused climate change on a number of occasions. [2], [3], [4]

UKIP’s party manifestos for the 2015 and 2017 elections both pledged to undo green initiatives, analysis by Carbon Brief showed. In 2015 it stated “the Climate Change Act is doing untold damage. UKIP will repeal it.” It also argued that “coal must be part of the solution” for cheap energy security and that it’s “times to get fracking.” These themes were repeated in 2017 when the party manifesto called again for the UK Climate Change Act to be repealed while pledging to “withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the EU Emissions Trading scheme.” [5]. [6]

UKIP’s primary goal was to seek the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, and Farage stepped down as party leader following the EU referendum in June 2016, saying his “political ambition [had] been achieved.” During the Brexit campaign, Farage was a leading member of the unofficial pro-Brexit groups Leave.EU and Grassroots Out. [7], [8]

Since then Farage has toured the US and Australia, visiting like-minded conservative groups and appearing as a commentator on Fox News. [9], [10], [11]

With the UK nearing its deadline for leaving the European Union, Farage has re-entered the political scene to advocate for a “hard” Brexit, leading a campaign group called Leave Means Leave with property investor, Richard Tice. Other members include Owen Paterson, Christopher Chope, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Peter Lilley. [12]

In February 2019, it was announced that Farage would run in the upcoming European Parliament elections for a newly-registered Brexit Party, if Britain had not left the EU by this point. [13]

Stance on Climate Change

November 2015

In an interview with Spiked online: [14]

“I haven’t got a clue whether climate change is being driven by carbon-dioxide emissions.” [14]

“I think wind energy is the biggest collective economic insanity I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ve never seen anything more stupid, more illogical, or more irrational.” [14]

June 2013

In an interview with Edie: [15]

“I am not saying that man is having no influence on the climate, although as the years go by it looks increasingly unlikely. To be told that the science is settled [on global warming] is hard to accept. Where I grew up, our back wall joined onto Down House where Charles Darwin wrote [On the Origin of Species] and 150 years on, the science isn't settled over Darwin and I can tell you science is never settled.” [15]

“It's odd to focus on carbon dioxide. I'm an environmentalist; I'm against carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide and toxins in our rivers. Yes, I'm all for pollution controls but to obsess with carbon dioxide, which as I understand it, is a perfectly natural occurring phenomenon, strikes me as strange.” [15]

September 2013

Speaking in the European Parliament: [16]

“We may have made one of the biggest and most stupid collective mistakes in history by getting so worried about global warming.” [16]

Key Quotes

February 2018

Farage said on Twitter: [17]

“Large parts of central London have no salt on the roads. Perhaps they are all so convinced by global warming they never thought any would be needed.” [17]

November 2015

In an interview with Spiked online: [14]

“I haven’t got a clue whether climate change is being driven by carbon-dioxide emissions.” [14]

“I think wind energy is the biggest collective economic insanity I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ve never seen anything more stupid, more illogical, or more irrational.” [14]

June 2013

In an interview with Edie: [15]

September 2013

Speaking in the European Parliament: [16]

“We may have made one of the biggest and most stupid collective mistakes in history by getting so worried about global warming.” [16]

Key Deeds

February 9, 2019

It was announced that Farage would run in the upcoming European Parliament elections for a newly-registered Brexit Party, if Britain had not left the EU by this point. [13]

November 2016

Nigel Farage claimed the distinction of being the first British politician to meet with Donald Trump after the US presidential election. A photo taken on November 12 shows the two men standing in front of Trump’s golden elevator in New York City alongside millionaire UKIP and Brexit-backer Arron Banks, Breitbart UK editor Raheem Kassam, unofficial Brexit campaign group Leave.EU pollster Gerry Gunster, and Andy Wigmore, communications director of Leave.EU. [18], [19], [20]

July 2016

Farage attended the Republican National Convention during the 2016 presidential race which led to the election of Donald Trump. His goal was to spread the “Brexit gospel,” as Politico reported at the time. “I think there are a lot of Republican strategists who are looking very closely at what we did and how we did it,” Farage told Politico, adding “All I can do is to come and tell my story.” [21]

July 2015

Farage delivered a speech to the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. where he made the case for the US to support Brexit. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative “free enterprise” group with a history of promoting climate science denial. [22]

Affiliations

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)— Founding member, former leader and MEP. [3], [7]
The Brexit Party — MEP. [23]
Leave.EU— Former member. [8]
Grassroots Out — Former member. [8]
Fox News— Commentator. [11]
Leave Means Leave — Vice-chairman. [12]