The Irish Times:

A Shining Example of Irish Media’s Failure To Ethically Report On The Climate Crisis

Let us be frank: The Irish media is drastically failing to understand and report on the true severity of the Climate Crisis, and in doing so is failing the people of Ireland on a daily basis.

The role of the media should be to inform and educate readers, with subject matter experts using their creative writing skills to drive home the significance of a wide range of issues and uncover the truth behind the spin so often presented to us by politicians and corporations alike.

While many have pointed to the failures of national broadcaster, RTE, in its constantly poor (or absent) coverage of the Climate Crisis – and they’re not wrong – there is perhaps a more troubling example of a national publication consistently platforming misinformation, disinformation and climate denial: The Irish Times.

Accepted Truths

While all publications are beholden to the political perspectives of their owners, editors and advertisers, there are some accepted truths that are held sacrosanct by legitimate news outlets.

With more than 5 million deaths per year already directly attributable to the Climate Crisis, and some 1.2 billion people anticipated to have been displaced by the Climate Crisis by 2050, reporting honestly and accurately on the Climate Crisis simply must be one of them.

It is our collective responsibility to act on the growing Climate Crisis – or otherwise reinforce Climate Imperialism. Denial of the Climate Crisis is to persecute predominantly non-white, non-wealthy people in the Global South.

Which brings us back to “Could Ireland be a winner from climate change?” (Irish Times, 7th October 2021).

**Graph showing the** **long-term increase of average** **temperatures in Ireland between 1901-2019, as the Climate Crisis worsens. Credit: Prof Ed Hawkins**

There Are No Winners

This is a genuine headline for an article that opens with “We might all agree that climate change is bad, but think for a moment about the winners from a heating planet. In the short to medium term, Ireland may gain from inbound tourism as the Mediterranean becomes uncomfortably hot”.

As the stark facts above demonstrate: there are no winners from the Climate Crisis.

The Irish Times is consistently engaged in a false narrative about the Climate Crisis: one that prioritises dissenting voices that undermine and deny climate science, voices that are primarily white, male and wealthy.

The richest 10% of people on Earth are responsible for almost half of total lifestyle consumption emissions. The carbon footprint of the average person in Ireland is nearly three times bigger than the average person on Earth. Credit: Oxfam

There is no concern given to the Global South, the people who are already suffering the most from the Climate Crisis, the people who have the least money to mitigate the loss of their land, their homes and their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the Irish Times talks of “home retrofitters face a cash bonanza as the cost of energy climbs”.

This is Climate Imperialism: the prioritisation of white people in the Global North – the opportunity for capitalists to capitalise from the Climate Crisis while non-white people, poorer people are left to suffer and die.

And meanwhile the Irish Times is “trying to broaden the debate by asking awkward questions” – a direct line from Could Ireland Be A Winner From Climate Change.

Just Asking Questions

Shirking responsibility for journalistic standards is a trend shared by the Irish Times, right-wing publications like Breitbart and climate deniers alike.

They will claim they are only sharing an alternative view, that they are expanding the conversation.

Instead they are promoting misinformation, disinformation and failing their readers on a daily basis by willingly choosing not to promote fundamental, undeniable truths.

This lack of journalistic integrity brings to mind the work of the great poet Alexander Pope and his poem The Dunciad, which describes a metaphorical tidalwave of effluent rampaging down Fleet Street – the home of the British press – as they sought to promote decay, imbecility and tastlessness.

Cars And The Climate Crisis

Perhaps, at this point, you might be considering that we have it out for the Irish Times based on a single article. Yet we have repeatedly sought comment from the publication’s Business Editor, Ciarán Hancock, owing to the consistent misinformation that he has allowed from a particular motoring journalist in his business section.

The motoring section is particularly relevant to the Climate Crisis, as 20% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transport industry, and driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles is a major climate impact that they majority of us make every day.

Transport sector emissions have grown significantly since 1990 levels - the bellweather by which we target greenhouse gas emissions cuts. Road transport, particularly the rise of SUVs has played a considerable part in this. Credit: Irish Cycle

Yet the Irish Times, and one journalist in particular, have been entirely comfortable with running articles such as “The best-of-the-best combustion engines to try before it’s too late”.

You may have previously read our article on the need for greater media accountability in the face of the Climate Crisis, which mentions the work of Neil Briscoe. Outside of his work for the Irish Times, we have previously highlighted a review he wrote for a diesel VW Golf which stated that “It’s worth remembering that diesels are naturally lower in climate-changing CO2 than petrol engines, so you are at least doing your Great Thunberg best.”

Needless to say that this is as untrue as it is shocking and idiotic. Diesels account for vast emissions of considerably more harmful greenhouse gases and air pollutants, such as NO2, which is 298 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years, and can last in our atmosphere for over a century.

**Sadly this is not a joke headline: It is climate imperialism. An article written solely for white, wealth men who don’t care about their climate impact. Credit: Irish Times**

Amongst his recent articles, the Irish Times has empowered Briscoe to repeatedly print false statements from car manufacturers extolling the benefits for hybrid vehicles, even going so far as to say “experts say greater reliance on hybrids, rather than EVs could be better for the planet.” A statement that is wholly unfounded and untrue.

In addition, we have seen consistent misinformation shared about everything from the use of biofuels, to the emissions created in EV production – which have consistently been debunked, and which often resulted from the disinformation campaign created by car manufacturers, known as Astongate.

Perhaps most alarming, Briscoe has repeatedly printed articles promoting the utter disinformation generated by ICCRA, who are seeking to delay Ireland’s climate emissions laws by a decade in order to increase profits for the dealership industry.

This culminated in June 2021, when Briscoe ran a full article dedicated to espousing the views of ICCRA spokesperson Denis Murphy, without once mentioning his affiliation with ICCRA. This is not ethical or responsible journalism.

“This culminated in June 2021, when Briscoe ran a full article dedicated to espousing the views of ICCRA spokesperson Denis Murphy, without once mentioning his affiliation with ICCRA”

Time and again we have flagged this to Ciarán Hancock and requested comment on how he can justify the repeated publication of disinformation, unscientific claims, and the bias promotion of lobbying groups. But no comment has been forthcoming.

Likely one can make similar comparisons to the Irish Times’ coverage of other major greenhouse gas emitters, such as the energy industry or agriculture.

Inverted Pyramid

Take any single Irish Times article on the Climate Crisis or the major factors in worsening the Climate Emergency, such as cars, and you’ll likely find a consistent prioritisation of denial over fact.

A core tool used in journalism is the so-called ‘Inverted Pyramid,’ which is used to structure articles and ensure the most pertinent information is presented up front.

Employing the inverted pyramid ensures that any reader could read no more than the first paragraph of an article and understand the most newsworthy information without reading any further.

Under this principle, the only opinion you should get comes halfway through with the introduction of quotes from those interviewed for the article, and at the bottom should be the least important information.

However, the Irish Times and its journalists like Neil Briscoe are consistently leaving Climate Crisis science and facts until the very end of their articles as an aside, a tiny counterpoint to the misinformation that they are promoting – in the place where the fewest people will read it. And they are doing so deliberately.

**The inverted pyramid is a key and traditional journalistic tool on how to prioritise information, with the most prescient detail at the top**

Money Speaks

However, the Irish Times’ murky misinformation about cars and the Climate Crisis isn’t only consigned to its editorial pieces.

Over recent weeks, the Times has repeatedly run sponsored content from Land Rover purporting to discuss the importance of sustainability and carbon footprints – all the while equating oversized, heavy, hybrid SUVs with some form of Climate Action.

These articles do not inform readers that if SUV drivers were a single nation, it would rank as the 7th largest emitter of CO2 in the world, or that they account for the second largest contribution to the increase in global carbon emissions from 2010-2018.

**While the Irish Times has clearly labelled this as sponsored content, is this where their moral obligations to reporting truthfully on the Climate Crisis should end? Credit: Irish Times**

The Irish Times has empowered Land Rover to greenwash on a consistent and large-scale basis, using trusted celebrities such as Brian O’Driscoll, Diamuid Gavin, Donal Skehan and Kathryn Thomas to make misleading claims about the unfounded ‘green’ credentials of its hybrid SUVs.

They aren’t being shy about these claims either. One headline reads “The TV presenter talks about her growing family, how she is more conscious of her environmental footprint, and how her Range Rover Evoque Plug-in Hybrid helps out”.

This is a clear demonstration that money is valued over truth in the reporting of the Climate Crisis at the Irish Times.

Media Accountability

This is a consistent pattern of Climate Crisis denial, and is indicative of how the Irish media at large is reporting on the single biggest thread to every living creature on this planet: poorly, and often with a considerable bias towards denial.

We deserve better, and it is up to us to make our voices heard.

A consistent backlash against RTE’s lack of Climate Crisis coverage prompted an apology from its Managing Director and a promise to do better – words that are frankly ringing a little hollow with little having changed.

However, this demonstrates that we can make an impact. Our pushback against consistently poor and bias journalism can effect meaningful change. News publications are, after all, now just businesses that are only valued by their owners for the profits that they make.

If our collective blacklash - or even boycott - reduces the Irish Times’ €8.3 million operating profit, they will change and go where the money is. And frankly, without a free and fair press that prioritises truth, facts and educating their readers, we have no hope in rallying action to overcome the Climate Crisis in the few years we have left to act.