Fact Check: GB News revives “climate lockdown” conspiracy narrative (August 2025)
🗣️ The Claim
In an August 2025 segment, presenters on GB News suggested that the UK government may impose “climate lockdowns” — restrictions on daily life similar to COVID-19 measures, but for environmental reasons.
📍 The Context
- The phrase “climate lockdown” first spread during the COVID-19 pandemic in conspiracy forums, claiming governments would restrict travel, energy use, and consumption to fight climate change.
- The idea has since been promoted by climate sceptics and right-wing media outlets as a scare tactic against environmental policy.
- No mainstream political party or government department in the UK has ever proposed such measures.
🔎 The Facts
- Government Policy
- No UK government legislation, white papers, or official statements mention “climate lockdowns.”
- Environmental policies focus on net zero targets, renewable energy, transport infrastructure, and emissions reduction, none of which involve lockdowns.
- Origin of the Conspiracy
- The phrase was amplified by conspiracy websites in 2020–21.
- It gained traction through online disinformation networks and has been debunked repeatedly by fact-checking organisations.
- Expert Views
- Carbon Brief, Climate Change Committee, and independent academics confirm no evidence of lockdown-style measures being considered.
- Framing net zero policies as “lockdowns” is a deliberate attempt to link climate policy to unpopular pandemic restrictions.
✅ Verdict: False
The claim of upcoming “climate lockdowns” has no basis in UK policy or law. It is a recycled conspiracy theory, not grounded in evidence.