JEREMY Clarkson has claimed that Net Zero “makes our lives worse” and solar panels are “like an ugly wife” in a scathing attack on “Ed Sillyband”.
The broadcaster, 65, made the argument in his latest column on Saturday, where he slammed the Government’s climate policies.
In his column for The Times, Clarkson questioned whether people would ever accept measures that he says make everyday life more difficult.
The former Top Gear presenter acknowledged that many people strongly support the push towards Net Zero, but blasted the policy as “unhuman”.
It marks a scathing attack Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, who he labels as “Ed Sillyband” and condemns his “ecological crusade” to fail.
He argued that the policy runs contrary to human nature, which he said is driven by a desire to make life easier and more comfortable.
While he also insisted on the importance of aesthetics, proclaiming solar panels “ugly” comparing them to having an “ugly wife or an ugly car”.
Clarkson claimed human progress has always focused on convenience, from clothing and heating to transport and household technology.
He argued that policies aimed at cutting carbon emissions reverse that progress as they “all make our lives more difficult”, something “Ed Sillyband doesn’t seem to understand”.
The Who Wants to be a Millionaire host took aim at electric vehicles, claiming that petrol cars allow long journeys to be completed quickly.
While electric cars require frequent charging and significantly longer travel times.
Clarkson claimed a journey to Scotland in a “Ed Milliband eco-car” would “take weeks”, as he would have to stop and charge the battery regularly.
The Sun columnist also criticised heat pumps, arguing they are expensive to install and ineffective at keeping homes warm.
“When I looked into the idea of installing one at the house I was building five years ago, I quickly came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to build Sizewell B in the garden,” he wrote.
Clarkson also argued that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar do not improve people’s lives in any meaningful way.
He continued to say consumers only care that electricity is available, not how it is generated.
He said solar panels were visually unappealing, comparing them to having an “ugly wife” and claiming they make homes less attractive.
He wrote that whenever he spots the panels on someone’s roof “I get so angry my hair starts to itch” because its “ugly” and that’s “unhuman as well”.
“Nobody wants an ugly wife or an ugly car and no one wants to take a holiday in an ugly resort,” he said.
He argued that aesthetics matter to people, suggesting this was another reason Net Zero policies would struggle to gain widespread public support.
Clarkson concluded by insisting that unless climate measures make life easier rather than harder, the public would continue to resist them.
“Because it’s unhuman to go backwards. Because it’s unhuman to deliberately make your life worse. It’s unhuman to want to be cold and sad,” he said.
