The Kate Silverton programme on Radio Five Live this morning dedicated a segment to telling us about all the wonderful positive things that will flow from the challenge of combating climate change (more recharging points for electric cars, refurbished homes, new factories, green jobs, a unicorn for every home, trees with money growing on them, that sort of thing). The guest they had on to help promote these lovely fluffy thoughts was none other than Solitaire Townsend, co-founder of Futerra Sustainability Communications, the PR agency behind the Rules of the Game propaganda document mentioned in the CRU emails. Of course none of that was brought up this morning (no talk of Climategate at all), nor was it pointed out that Futerra has advised the BBC on how to promote the eco agenda through workshops on “communicating sustainable development”. (An email promoting these Futerra workshops can be found in the CRU batch, coincidentally). It would appear that the latest element of the BBC/Futerra communications strategy is simply to let the green PR wonks have the airtime themselves to get their message across.
(Townsend doesn’t seem to be on top of her subject. During the discussion she came out with following: “Obama has a Green Jobs Czar who is to make sure the USA can make the best of this transition to a low carbon economy.” I don’t believe he does. Van Jones, the Green Jobs Czar, went under the bus when it emerged that he was a 9/11 truther with radical leftist links, and I can find no mention of a replacement. I suppose Townsend can be forgiven for not knowing about Jones’ “resignation” – even the BBC’s director of global news Richard Sambrook admitted that the Beeb didn’t give the story enough coverage.)
Its fascinating to watch this run up to Copenhagen as the shows have obviously been planned months in advance (no doubt with Futerra’s help). Now like any other centrally planned organisation the Beeb can’t alter the shows or the guests on them to reflect Climategate or indeed reality. Its like listening to East German radio read out the latest tractor production stats the week before the wall fell.