The BBC has stopped Evan Davis, one of its senior presenters, from hosting a personal podcast informing the public about heat pumps, a flagship clean heating solution.
Speaking on the final episode of the show, launched in January, Davis said that the BBC had become “concerned” that the podcast was “somehow treading on areas of public controversy”.
He added: “I take their shilling; they dictate the rules. They know they have to try and keep their presenters out of areas of public controversy and they have decided heat pumps can be controversial so they’ve asked me not to be involved.”
Heat pumps, powered by electricity, are currently set to play a key role in decarbonising heating and replacing gas boilers, which heat around 85 percent of Britain’s homes and account for 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. The government has set a target of 600,000 heat pump installations every year by 2028, up from just 55,000 in 2022.
The Happy Heat Pump podcast co-hosted by Davis attempted to educate listeners about how to use a heat pump, how much they cost, and which properties are best suited to a heat pump.
Heat pumps can be more expensive to install than alternatives, though experts have blamed the government for not matching the incentives offered by its European counterparts. Heat pump uptake in the UK is among the lowest in Europe, with more than 500,000 heat pumps sold in France last year, and more than 400,000 in both Italy and Germany.
However, gas industry lobbyists and sections of the right-wing media have attempted to stoke a “culture war” around the uptake of heat pumps in the UK. DeSmog revealed in July 2023 that a barrage of negative press about heat pumps had been funded by a gas lobby group.
Davis’s podcast co-host, Bean Beanland, criticised the BBC’s decision. Beanland, the director for growth and external affairs for the Heat Pump Federation, said the corporation’s judgement was “extraordinary”.
“It does seem to me that somehow the technologies we espouse have fallen victim to some sort of culture war,” he added.
Davis said that he believes the BBC’s decision was “more about net zero than this particular form of heating”. The legally-binding target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 has also been weaponised by campaigners and conservative media outlets, despite a broad public consensus for reducing emissions and building new green infrastructure.
“Cars are controversial, they kill and maim thousands every year, but that hasn’t stopped the BBC glamorising car use in its decades broadcasting hundreds of episodes of Top Gear,” said Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute.
“Heat pumps, on the other hand, don’t kill or maim, they just cheaply and safely warm homes. It’s been estimated that swapping all 23 million gas boilers in the UK to heat pumps could save roughly £11 billion in wholesale gas costs.
“The technology is already hugely successful in some of the coldest countries in Europe. In those with the longest, harshest winters like Norway, Finland and Sweden, heat pumps dominate. Already by 2022 around 41 percent of Finnish households had a heat pump installed, with two-thirds in Norway and nearly half in Sweden. Try telling them that their heating systems are controversial.”
A number of commentators have expressed their dismay on social media at the BBC’s decision. Financial Times associate editor Stephen Bush accused the BBC of “muzzling one of its best presenters from making an excellent, wholly factual programme”. Bush added that the broadcaster was an “organisation badly in need of new leadership.”
A BBC spokesperson told DeSmog: “The BBC editorial guidelines are clear that anyone working for the BBC who does an external public speaking or writing engagement should not compromise the impartiality or integrity of the BBC or its content, or suggest that any part of the BBC endorses a third-party organisation, product, service or campaign.”
As previously revealed by DeSmog, the BBC’s commercial content arm, BBC StoryWorks, has been paid to promote oil and gas companies, agricultural giants, fossil fuel states, and high-emission transport firms.
Experts have also highlighted that Davis’s podcast was simply reflecting basic facts about heat pumps.
Energy policy expert Jan Rosenow said: “Heat pumps are a mature technology that has been around for more than 100 years. All authoritative analyses indicate that we need to deploy millions of them to reach net zero. Public controversy stems from poor reporting – Evan tried to change that.”
These sentiments were reflected by fellow climate expert Andrew Sissons, who said: “I’ve said this before but… heat pumps are really quite boring, and it says quite a lot about the state of debate in Britain that we’ve managed to make them controversial. Credit to Evan for trying to make them not controversial.”
New findings from an alliance of NGOs challenges the belief that climate falsehoods are confined to social media.
Climate disinformation was routinely broadcast in news programmes across French TV and radio in the first three months of 2025, with 128 verified cases identified by an alliance of NGOs.
Using AI to identify misleading narratives, which were then reviewed by fact-checkers, the alliance assessed programmes classed as “news” by the French broadcast regulator ARCOM from 19 TV and radio stations.
A preliminary report was produced by the French NGOs Data For Good, QuotaClimat, and Science Feedback. The study also identified 379 cases of ‘discourses of delay’ – arguments intended to slow the transition to carbon neutrality by undermining climate science, solutions or experts – which focused particularly on discrediting advocates of net zero. The final results will be published in September.
“We expected to find cases, but not a finding of this magnitude. It truly reflects how climate disinformation has been underestimated as a threat by the news media,” said Eva Morel, secretary general of QuotaClimat.
“This is a call to action: climate disinformation is being normalised, and we need trusted sources of information to counter it before it is too late.”
The majority of these attacks (61 percent) were aimed at discrediting solutions to the climate crisis, while 13 percent attempted to deny or minimise the scientific consensus on climate change.
Private media companies were responsible for 81 percent of climate disinformation broadcast. One station – Sud Radio – broadcast one-third of all the cases identified by the researchers.
The station, owned by the consultancy firm Fiducial, attracts over 4.5 million monthly listeners, and was the first to receive a warning from the French broadcast regulator ARCOM in 2024 for broadcasting climate science denial. Sud Radio was approached for comment.
The same year, the regulator levied at €20,000 fine against another TV station, CNews, for a similar broadcast violation.
The report highlights how the success of anti-climate political parties across the Western world is fuelling climate disinformation on the news.
The researchers found a “significant spike in climate disinformation” during the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, with almost half of the disinformation referencing the new president’s views on climate change.
“Given the growing influence of governments that openly deny climate change around the world, and the rising media and electoral traction of political parties positioning themselves on this issue, the permeability of traditional media to climate disinformation during geopolitical events is alarming,” the report states.
For example, Philippe Karsenty, the spokesperson for ‘Trump France’, said during an interview with BMFTV on 21 January: “we’ve been lied to for years” about climate change, which the interviewer did not correct.
The report alleges that broadcasting such a comment without a correction is in direct breach of an agreement that BMFTV renewed with ARCOM in December 2024. Namely, the agreement states that BFMTV commits to “ensuring honesty of information in its programming” and “distinguishing between facts and commentary” when presenting on “controversial issues”. BMFTV was approached for comment.
The alliance recommends that newsrooms expand coverage of environmental issues, support journalist training in environmental literacy, and introduce live fact-checking teams for interviews.
The alliance also urges ARCOM to respond to complaints of climate disinformation with “speed and proportionality”. It encourages advertisers to reassess their partnerships with broadcasters who spread climate disinformation and raise concerns with the stations.
The growing prominence of climate disinformation on broadcast channels is an issue across the Western world. As revealed by DeSmog, one-third of presenters on the right-wing platform GB News expressed climate science denial on air in 2022. GB News, which is co-owned by the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, has given dozens of appearances to groups that reject basic climate facts.
However, the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has so far refused to investigate the channel for spreading false climate claims.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an insane, xenophobic Fascist.Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.
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Palestinians, including children gather around a water tanker to collect clean water amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and the continued closure of border crossings, which have severely limited access to basic necessities in Khan Yunis, Gaza on March 29, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Under the weight of war and a suffocating blockade, more than two million people in the Gaza Strip are facing an unprecedented water crisis that threatens their daily survival. What was already a dire situation before the escalation has now turned catastrophic due to the ongoing bombardment and the widespread destruction of water infrastructure. The UN report from 2022 unveils a grim reality: over 97 per cent of Gaza’s drinking water is unfit for drinking or human consumption as a result of contaminants infiltrating groundwater reserves, whether it was caused by the excessive pumping of polluted water by the Israeli Occupation into Wadi Gaza, leakage from deteriorating sewage networks into the aquifer or the intrusion of the polluted saltwater into the aquifer by 75 per cent to meet the water deficit of the increased demand caused by the increased population. Compared to that, natural rain that does not exceed 30 per cent of natural replenishment. The situation is further exacerbated by the leakage of residues from Israeli munitions into groundwater sources.
Gaza’s water crisis: Numbers dripping with pain
Gaza’s water reality reveals a prolonged and profound deficit. While the Israeli Occupation enjoys a near-universal coverage of clean water (more than 99 per cent), as well as a substantial control over the aquifer, Gaza languishes among the world’s lowest water access rates, with a coverage below 10 per cent, placing it in a state of constant water emergency.
Over the past years, Israel, through its national water company, Mekorot, supplied Gaza with around 18 million cubic meters of water annually through three pipelines, amounting to only 9 per cent of Gaza’s needs. Yet, the water sector in Gaza suffers from a severe deficit exceeding 120 million cubic meters per year (approximately 60 per cent of total demand). With the outbreak of the latest war, these limited supplies have been repeatedly disrupted and, today, they are completely cut off following the destruction of transmission networks. During the war, these pipelines provided up to 70 per cent of Gaza City’s water supply, after most local water sources were destroyed. More than 85 per cent of Gaza’s water and sewage networks have been bombarded, causing destruction and damage to 2,263 kilometres of pipelines and 47 pumping stations, as well as the cessation of all operations of wastewater treatment plants. Currently, only 30 per cent of Gaza’s wells remain operational. The capacity of desalination plants has plummeted to their lowest levels due to continuous bombardment and the shortages of electricity and fuel. Consequently, water supplies available to Gaza’s people have dropped by 95 per cent, with the average daily water consumption per capita reduced to just 3–5 litres, far below the 15-liter minimum emergency threshold set by the United Nations.
Gaza’s displaced: Long queues and arduous journeys for a few drops of water
Since the beginning of the escalation, thousands of Gaza’s residents have endured the tragedy of displacement, which has only deepened their daily suffering. Hundreds of families, forced to flee their homes under heavy bombardment, now face the exhausting challenge of searching for water in distant areas or in overcrowded shelters lacking even the most basic necessities of life. Long queues at water distribution points and wells have become a daily reality, fraught with the constant risks of air strikes, fear and loss of life.
“We wait for long hours just to access unsafe and contaminated water, and sometimes we only manage to get our share after complete exhaustion,” says Fatima, a 35-year-old mother of four, who was displaced with her children to a shelter in western Gaza. “The distance we have to walk every day just to collect water can stretch for several kilometres and, with each passing day, the journey becomes even more difficult.”
Contaminated water: An immediate and long-term health threatThe health situation in Gaza has become catastrophic due to the acute shortage of clean water and the forced reliance on contaminated sources for drinking and hygiene, if available, which has led tothe widespread outbreak of acute diseases such as diarrhoea, kidney infections, urinary tract infections and waterborne diseases, as well as skin infections due to poor hygiene conditions or the use of polluted water for personal care.
These health risks are even more severe for children under the age of five, who are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, intestinal infections, and severe diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration or death. Pregnant women also face higher risks of early miscarriage, premature delivery and reduced breast milk production due to dehydration and exposure to contaminated water. The elderly are not spared, either, as they face an increased risk of kidney diseases, kidney failure and challenges in managing chronic conditions in the absence of safe and sufficient water supplies.
Impact of the water crisis on food security and forced displacement
The water crisis in Gaza is not only a health emergency but also a growing threat to food security. The destruction of agricultural irrigation networks has further worsened the already fragile economic situation, increasing poverty and hunger across the Gaza Strip due to a sharp decline in agricultural and livestock production. Agricultural productivity in the limited available farmland has dropped by 60 per cent as a result of using contaminated water, not to mention that farmlands have become either unsuitable for cultivation or located in unsafe areas due to the ongoing conflict. Moreover, the scarcity of clean and safe water has intensified forced displacement, with many residents compelled to leave their homes in search of areas where drinking water is available.
A grave breach of International Law: Denying people their right to life
The targeting and destruction of water sources and infrastructure in Gaza constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
According to the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, it is prohibited to attack resources indispensable to the survival of civilians, such as water supplies. Denying water to civilians amounts to a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and represents a blatant violation of Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Such acts may also qualify as crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In the face of tragedy: An urgent call for action
In light of this tragic reality, there is an urgent need for immediate and coordinated action. Internationally, the United Nations must activate emergency protection mechanisms, while international organisations, including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, should play a key role in intensifying political pressure on the United States to compel Israel to stop the war, halt the supply of weapons to the Occupying forces and ensure the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Human Rights Council is also expected to issue investigative reports on these violations, and the International Criminal Court should open immediate investigations into the crimes committed.
On the humanitarian level, aid organisations must intensify efforts to find emergency solutions for providing clean water to the population in Gaza by repairing damaged water networks, maintaining wells and desalination plants using locally available resources, operating mobile desalination units powered by solar energy, expanding water distribution through water trucks to shelters and displacement camps and providing households with simple tools for water purification and desalination.
On the relief level, it is essential to pre-position water-related equipment, including well supplies, fixed and mobile desalination units, generators, solar energy systems, spare parts for water networks and fuel in both Egypt and Jordan. These should be ready for immediate delivery as soon as border crossings are opened for humanitarian aid. It would be a grave mistake to wait until Crossings re-open before starting to procure these critical supplies, given the time required for sourcing and delivery.
For the recovery and development of Gaza’s water system, it is equally critical not to wait until the war ends to begin planning and preparation. Delaying the restoration and development of the water sector will only prolong the suffering of a population that has already endured unimaginable hardship for over 17 months. Efforts must begin now by developing a comprehensive recovery plan, securing supply chains, mobilising funding and preparing technical teams to respond without delay, ensuring the most vital resource for life, water, is restored for Gaza’s population.
Between a suffocating siege and relentless bombardment, the people of Gaza struggle for every drop of water, much like a drowning person gasping for their final breath. They call for water but receive none; they cry out for help but are left unheard. Has humanity truly turned its back on them? Is water not a right for every living soul, including those trapped and besieged in Gaza?
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Israeli occupation soldiers move through agricultural lands during an Israeli raid in the rural areas of Tulkarm Refugee Camp in Tulkarm, West Bank on February 05, 2025 [Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu Agency]
An investigation by Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, has revealed that the Israeli military fabricated the discovery of a tunnel in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, claiming the structure was, in fact, a shallow canal, Anadolu Agency reports.
Last August, the army published photos of an alleged tunnel in the demilitarised area along the border.
“There was never a tunnel, but a canal covered in dirt,” KAN said.
The purpose of this lie “was to exaggerate the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor and delay a hostage deal,” it added.
According to KAN, former Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, backed the findings, saying, “It was not a tunnel, but rather an attempt to prevent a ceasefire agreement.”
Gallant clarified that the structure was only about one meter deep and was misleadingly presented to the public as a deep tunnel. “It was promoted to the public as a deep tunnel to prevent reaching a deal with Hamas,” he added.
The Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas, demands a full ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in return for any hostage swap deal.
There was no immediate comment from the army on the report.
The Israeli army resumed its assault on Gaza on 18 March, shattering a 19 January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Israel has killed more than 51,200 Palestinians in the enclave since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
