The UK’s most prominent climate change denial group has seen membership surge over the past year, with income from membership tripling, according to records filed at Companies House.

The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), established by former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson in 2009, and which has previously warned against the “extremely damaging and harmful policies” designed to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis, saw its total income rise by around £75,000 in 2019.

The GWPF accounts, published on public database Companies House, and highlighted by DeSmog UK, reveal a rise in the organisation’s total income from £351,642 in 2018 to £426,244 in 2019 – an increase of £74,602.

The group describes itself as “an all-party and non-party think tank and a registered educational charity which, while open-minded on the contested science of global warming, is deeply concerned about the costs and other implications of many of the policies currently being advocated.”

While it is accurate for the group to say the science of climate change has been contested, it has only been done so by a tiny minority of the scientific community.

Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures California In this decade, humans have become ever more aware of climate change. Calls for leaders to act echo around the globe as the signs of a changing climate become ever more difficult to ignore Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Athens, Greece Fierce wildfires have flared up in numerous countries. The damage being caused is unprecedented: 103 people were killed in wildfires last year in California, one of the places best prepared, best equipped to fight such blazes in the world AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Redding, California Entire towns have been razed. The towns of Redding and Paradise in California were all but eliminated in the 2018 season AP Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Athens, Greece While wildfires in Greece (pictured), Australia, Indonesia and many other countries have wrought chaos to infrastructure, economies and cost lives AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Carlisle, England In Britain, flooding has become commonplace. Extreme downpours in Carlisle in the winter of 2015 saw the previous record flood level being eclipsed by two feet AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Hebden Bridge, England Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has flooded repeatedly in the past decade, with the worst coming on Christmas Day 2015. Toby Smith of Climate Visuals, an organisation focused on improving how climate change is depicted in the media, says: "Extreme weather and flooding, has and will become more frequent due to climate change. An increase in the severity and distribution of press images, reports and media coverage across the nation has localised the issue. It has raised our emotions, perception and personalised the effects and hazards of climate change." Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Somerset, England Out west in Somerset, floods in 2013 led to entire villages being cut off and isolated for weeks Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Dumfries, Scotland "In summer 2012, intense rain flooded over 8000 properties. In 2013, storms and coastal surges combined catastrophically with elevated sea levels whilst December 2015, was the wettest month ever recorded. Major flooding events continued through the decade with the UK government declaring flooding as one of the nation's major threats in 2017," says Mr Smith of Climate Visuals Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Weather has been more extreme in Britain in recent years. The 'Beast from the East' which arrived in February 2018 brought extraordinarily cold temperatures and high snowfall. Central London (pictured), where the city bustle tends to mean that snow doesn't even settle, was covered in inches of snow for day PA Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Months after the cold snap, a heatwave struck Britain, rendering the normally plush green of England's parks in Summer a parched brown for weeks AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures New South Wales, Australia Worsening droughts in many countries have been disastrous for crop yields and have threatened livestock. In Australia, where a brutal drought persisted for months last year, farmers have suffered from mental health problems because of the threat to their livelihood Reuters Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Tonle Sap, Cambodia Even dedicated climate skeptic Jeremy Clarkson has come to recognise the threat of climate change after visiting the Tonle Sap lake system in Cambodia. Over a million people rely on the water of Tonle Sap for work and sustinence but, as Mr Clarkson witnessed, a drought has severley depleted the water level Carlo Frem/Amazon Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Addis Ababa, Ethiopia In reaction to these harbingers of climate obliteration, some humans have taken measures to counter the impending disaster. Ethiopia recently planted a reported 350 million trees in a single day AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Morocco Morocco has undertaken the most ambitious solar power scheme in the world, recently completing a solar plant the size of San Francisco AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Electric cars are taking off as a viable alternative to fossil fuel burning vehicles and major cities across the world are adding charging points to accomodate AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Purmerend, The Netherlands Cities around the world are embracing cycling too, as a clean (and healthy) mode of transport. The Netherlands continues to lead the way with bikes far outnumbering people Jeroen Much/Andras Schuh Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Xiamen, China Cycling infrastructure is taking over cities the world over, in the hope of reducing society's dependency on polluting vehicles Ma Weiwei Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Chennai, India Despite positive steps being taken, humans continue to have a wildly adverse effect on the climate. There have been numerous major oil spills this decade, the most notable being the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Amazon rainforest, Brazil More recently, large swathes of the Amazon rainforest were set alight by people to clear land for agriculture AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures California This decade may have seen horrors but it has led to an understanding that the next decade must see change if human life is to continue Getty

More than 97 per cent of peer-reviewed studies by scientists agree climate-warming trends over the past century are due to human activities, according to Nasa.

The 10 warmest years in the 140-year record all have occurred since 2005, with the six warmest years being the six most recent years, Nasa said this year.

On its website the GWPF states: “Above all we seek to inform the media, politicians and the public, in a newsworthy way, on the subject in general and on the misinformation to which they are all too frequently being subjected at the present time.”

But when The Independent contacted the foundation, a spokesperson declined to comment on any matter.

The organisation is secretive about its membership and how it is funded, but has always asked each member to pay at least £100 per year.

After attracting large amounts of investment and reporting strong income from membership in the years after it was set up, by 2016, the total income the GWPF received fell by two-thirds over five years.

This year’s figures represent a significant bounce back for the organisation.

As the group refuses to detail its income sources or - in this case - talk to the journalists, it is difficult to know what is driving the resurgence in its fortunes.

However, as the climate crisis has become an increasingly grave world issue, inspiring more people to take action to demand a coherent response, there has also been a pronounced backlash.

In a statement alongside the report, GWPF director Benny Peiser noted the impact of Greta Thunberg and of Extinction Rebellion and accused the government of rushing through its plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, as a result of media coverage of the enormous protests.

Mr Peiser said: “The last 12 months have been an incredibly busy and productive time for the Global Warming Policy Foundation. In these volatile times and as the climate debate has become more heated than ever the work of the GWPF has continued to provide a considered and rational voice.”

Mr Peiser also noted the “victories and major breakthroughs for parties opposed to the rising cost of climate and energy policies”, citing the rise of Jair Bolsonaro’s regime in Brazil, the staying power of Scott Morrison in Australia – who saw off opposition with stronger policies to protect the planet – and the impact of the “yellow vest” movement in France in which protesters demanded lower fuel taxes, among other things.

“Energy cost revolts in many other parts of the world signal a nascent backlash against regressive climate policies," said Mr Peiser.

But scientists have repeatedly argued that the cost of inaction in the face of the climate crisis would be incalculable, while relatively low levels of targeted spending could yield significant economic benefits.