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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Decarbonisation Has Real Costs
- Decarbonisation always imposes costs because it requires paying for pollution externalities.
- Helm argues claims that decarbonisation will be cheaper are implausible and politically misleading.
Expensive Energy Weakens Industry
- High energy prices compound other structural problems and erode industrial competitiveness.
- Helm links Britain's deindustrialisation partly to expensive energy policy choices.
We Locked In High Energy Costs
- Political promises of cheap, homegrown, and secure renewable energy are self-deluding.
- Helm warns the UK has locked in high energy costs through current contracts stretching decades ahead.
