Reform UK, a political party led by Nigel Farage that has gained prominence in recent British politics, has made numerous statements about climate and energy that contradict established scientific findings, according to a detailed examination of the party’s public statements.
The party’s deputy leader and energy spokesperson, Richard Tice, has made several claims rejected by climate scientists. In February 2025, Tice stated there is no evidence that human-produced carbon dioxide affects climate, citing a Norwegian government report. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on climate science, states it is unequivocal that human activities have warmed the planet primarily through greenhouse gas emissions. The Norwegian report Tice referenced was produced by independent authors and Statistics Norway clarified the views do not represent the official stance of the statistics bureau. Climate scientists have characterized the report as containing standard climate denial arguments.
Tice has also suggested that climate naturally cycles through various periods, a claim that oversimplifies the scientific record. While Earth has experienced natural climate variations over millions of years, current global temperatures are approximately 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, with scientists indicating this represents warming beyond what occurred in the past 125,000 years. The scientific consensus attributes roughly 100 percent of recent warming to human activity.
Farage has made separate claims about solar activity and volcanic eruptions as potential climate drivers, which scientists overwhelmingly reject. He has also argued that human-produced carbon dioxide represents only a small percentage of total atmospheric CO2 emissions. While humans account for a few percent of annual CO2 releases, this framing misrepresents the carbon cycle, as natural absorption and release processes were historically balanced before industrial-era disruptions.
Reform UK’s positions reflect broader climate skepticism integrated into the party’s ideology and policy platform, which includes commitments to abandon net-zero targets and expand fossil fuel development if the party gains governmental power.
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