By Abbas Nazil
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has faced criticism from health professionals, climate campaigners and political opponents after dismissing efforts to tackle the climate crisis and urging Britons to enjoy the country’s recent heatwaves.
Tice made the comments at a press conference on Monday, arguing that governments should focus more on adapting to climate change than attempting to prevent it.
He questioned whether achieving net zero emissions would stop climate change and described efforts to halt the climate emergency as “arrogant”, while suggesting that warmer conditions could provide benefits such as improved production of English wine and sparkling wine.
His remarks came during a summer marked by repeated periods of extreme heat, wildfires and growing concerns about drought, food production and pressure on health services across the United Kingdom.
The UK government has estimated that 2,877 people died as a result of high temperatures during heatwaves in May and June, a figure that is twice the number recorded for the whole of the previous summer.
Health professionals subsequently challenged Tice’s characterisation of extreme heat, warning that rising temperatures are already placing significant pressure on hospitals and posing serious risks to vulnerable people.
A spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing said people calling on the public to enjoy the impacts of climate change should consider the experiences of nurses working in hospitals where indoor temperatures have reached 36C and patients are suffering from heat-related illnesses.
Public health researcher Simon Williams of Swansea University also criticised Tice’s comments, accusing the Reform deputy leader of spreading misinformation about climate change and its health impacts.
New research reported in The Lancet has indicated that older people can be affected by extreme heat at lower temperatures than previously understood, reinforcing concerns about the health consequences of increasingly severe heatwaves.
The National Farmers’ Union has also warned that farmers are experiencing one of their worst harvests, while firefighters have responded to wildfires across parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson described Tice’s remarks as “tone-deaf”, pointing to wildfires, threats to water supplies and concerns over food security as evidence of the growing consequences of extreme weather.
Climate campaigners similarly rejected Tice’s position, arguing that adaptation alone cannot address the underlying causes of climate change and that reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains necessary to limit future risks.
Reform UK has consistently opposed the UK government’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and has pledged to end green subsidies if it comes to power.
Tice has previously questioned whether the world is experiencing a climate emergency, although he has acknowledged that climate change is occurring.
During Monday’s press conference, he also advocated greater consideration of desalination plants as a way of strengthening the UK’s water supply, noting that such facilities are widely used in parts of the Middle East.
The controversy has intensified debate over how governments should balance climate mitigation, adaptation and economic considerations as extreme weather events become increasingly disruptive.
Critics argue that encouraging people to simply enjoy higher temperatures overlooks the deaths, illness, agricultural losses and environmental destruction associated with extreme heat.
Tice’s comments have therefore renewed political debate in Britain over the country’s climate policies and whether the government should maintain its net zero commitments while investing simultaneously in measures to protect communities from the effects of a changing climate.