More than 100 church and Christian leaders from around the UK are signatories in an open letter to billionaire and media mogul Paul Marshall regarding his position on climate action.
Marshall, who co-owns GB News and identifies as a committed Church of England Christian, has said that the UK is infected by “climate derangement syndrome”, according to The Guardian.
The letter reads: “After decades of research, climate scientists are nearly unanimous in their diagnosis of the causes of global heating: causes which, as Christians, we believe are not merely technical, economic or scientific in nature, but are the direct result of human greed".
“We share all of this with you not only because you are a professing Christian and fellow brother in Christ, but because you have significant responsibility given your portfolio of media holdings (UnHerd, GB News, The Spectator): outlets which shape the thinking of millions of people and have a significant impact on our public discourse and politics.”
While the letter praised GB News for covering the National Emergency Briefing, which included a series of talks on the climate crisis, it also criticised the media company for statements on climate change it described as “misleading” as well as “953 attacks” on climate science around the 2024 general election.
The letter also condemned some of Marshall’s own statements including his assertion that decarbonisation is “impoverishing our people” and “sacrificing our energy security".
The letter’s signatories additionally expressed concerns regarding Marshall’s hedge fund, which they said had reportedly invested £1.8 billion in fossil fuels as of 2023.
“If you have personal financial interests in fossil fuels, we ask, in the spirit of transparency, that you declare these interests before making public statements about the climate crisis and what our collective response to it should be”, the letter said.
According to The Guardian, Marshall said: “I share the concerns for stewardship of the planet, which is currently in a gradual warming cycle. This has to be balanced with a commitment to human flourishing."
He continued: “For that reason I do not support the current policy of unilateral net zero, which the UK is pursuing out of step with the rest of the world. It is undermining the country’s long-term prosperity, imposing excess costs on businesses, discouraging new growth industries and having an outsized negative impact on the elderly and the poor.
“The gospel entreats us to look after the vulnerable and I urge you to reflect on how high energy costs and restricting access to cheap oil and gas affects so many people".
Marshall noted that he does not participate in the editorial decisions made by GB News.
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