Wildlife campaigner and environmental activist Chris Packham has delivered a stinging rebuke to a climate change skeptic on Sunday morning, after he became entangled in a fierce war of words with Luke Johnson.
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Chris Packham takes down Luke Johnson in climate change debate
The entrepreneur has often questioned the link between extreme weather events and carbon emissions. So placing him on a panel with Packham ensured there’d be a box office bust-up at some point, and viewers were not left disappointed.
Johnson rallied against groups like Just Stop Oil, lambasting them for ‘trying to stop people going on holiday’. The decision to platform him on Laura Kuenssberg’s political show has already been criticised by some social media users.
However, Chris Packham used the debate to his advantage. He questioned Johnson about record rainfalls and high temperatures across the world, only for his adversary to ask for ‘more evidence’ to back up the claim.
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This, though, was a softball for the Springwatch presenter, who calmly reminded Johnson about the large body of scientific evidence that supports his position. The tense exchange took other guests by surprise, but Packham stuck to his guns.
“What about he ordinary people of Dubai last week? What about the ordinary people of the global south, who have just suffered the hottest year ever. Their crops have failed, there has been extensive wildfires.” [Johnson interjects]
“Where’s the evidence? Well, It doesn’t come from Toby Young’s ‘Daily Septic’, which is put together by those close to the Fossil Fuel industry. Instead, it comes from something called science.” | Chris Packham
You can watch the Packham vs Johnson clash in the video clip below: