The Met Office should name storms after fossil fuel companies, campaigners have said, after the weather forecasting service opened a storm naming competition.
Climate campaigners have recommended the Met Office names its storms after various oil and gas corporations to remind the public of the link between burning fossil fuels and extreme weather.
They are hoping to spark a craze similar to “Boaty McBoatface”, when in 2016 the National Environment Research Council opened a competition to name a £200m polar research ship. Nationwide hilarity ensued when the public voted Boaty McBoatface as the top choice for the ship’s name. However, the name was not chosen by the government, who opted to name it the Sir David Attenborough instead.
I think corporations are better. Nobody connects execs with corporations and if someone does and it starts costing them money it’s a minor imconvenience they can deal with.
But if you target their company name you target their brand and that’s going to be more than a slight inconvenience. Rebranding is crazy expensive and there’s no rubbing off that stink without rebranding.
I imagine we’re going to get more storms than we have oil companies so eventually we can go after the execs as well.