UnHerd with Freddie Sayers Prof. Dieter Helm: The madness of our climate policy
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Nov 9, 2025 Prof. Sir Dieter Helm, a leading economic policy expert from the University of Oxford, critiques the current climate strategy as a 'self-delusion.' He argues that decades of COP efforts have failed, revealing how green policies may actually harm the West while benefiting China. Helm highlights the heavy reliance on fossil fuels and points out the unrealistic nature of targets like Net Zero 2050. He calls for a shift in focus towards effective, cost-conscious decarbonization and warns against misleading voters about the true costs of climate policies.
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Decades Of COPs Achieved Little
- Net Zero policies have produced little atmospheric CO2 reduction despite decades of effort.
- Dieter Helm calls this a failure of design and asks why we achieved so little at such cost.
Fossil Fuels Still Dominate Energy
- 84% of the world's energy still comes from oil, gas and coal while wind and solar supply only a few percent.
- Helm stresses the mismatch between political rhetoric and the reality of global energy sources.
Renewables Carry Hidden Emissions
- Renewables are not zero-emission because their supply chains create pollution, largely in China.
- Helm warns politicians' claims of 'clean' and 'homegrown' energy are misleading.
