Kemi Badenoch has said that sticking to the 2050 net zero target will ‘bankrupt’ the UK
In a speech today, the leader of the opposition and the Conservative Party has called the 2050 net zero target impossible.
The target was originally put in place by the former Conservative government, under Theresa May in 2019.
The 2050 net zero target is considered of the utmost importance
The target is a part of the Paris Agreement, along with a commitment to a 68% carbon emissions reduction by 2030.
The current Labour government has maintained a commitment to these targets, with the announcement of Great British Energy, the Crown Estate Bill, and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel bill.
Through initiatives such as Passivhaus, the construction industry is also working towards net zero. The industry is switching to carbon reducing and net zero buildings, from housing to schools, advancements are being made in low- and no-carbon materials, such as cement, and retrofit technologies advancing to reduce carbon in existing buildings.
So far, responses have been negative
Kemi Badenoch’s speech is the first divergence from what has been, until now, a cross-party agreement to uphold the 2050 net zero target. ReformUK have also recently announced they would drop support for the 2050 net zero target.
Criticism was immediate, as Badenoch’s speech was interrupted twice by protestors.
Further responses have been scathing, both from within and without the Conservative Party.
Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network, said: “It is a mistake for Kemi Badenoch to have jumped the gun on her own policy review and decided net zero isn’t possible by 2050. This undermines the significant environmental legacy of successive Conservative governments who provided the outline of a credible plan for tackling climate change. The important question now is how to build out this plan in a way that supports growth, strengthens security, and follows conservative, free market principles.
“The net zero target is driven not by optimism but by scientific reality; without it climate change impacts and costs will continue to worsen. Abandon the science and voters will start to doubt the Conservative Party ’s seriousness on the clean energy transition, damaging both growth and the fight against climate change.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch claims she’s ready to ‘deal with reality’ while remaining in complete denial about the reality of the Tories’ appalling record in government.
“The Tory leader’s position is at odds with her own historic views. In government, she openly championed net zero.
“It’s clear the Conservatives stand for nothing and have learned absolutely no lessons. They haven’t changed.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Daisy Cooper said: “Kemi Badenoch is taking a leaf straight out of Nigel Farage’s playbook while turning her back on the millions of former Conservative voters who care about protecting our environment.
“Scrapping net zero and renewable energy targets will simply increase our reliance on foreign fossil fuels, lining the pockets of the likes of Vladimir Putin and his cronies.
“Whether it’s abandoning plans for clean energy, slashing maternity pay or undermining the UK’s national energy security, bungling Badenoch’s plans would leave our country worse off.”
Simon McWhirter, deputy chief executive at the UK Green Building Council, said:
“It’s hard not to receive this sort of news with equal measures of frustration and disbelief.
As a nation we’ve already started doing the hard yards of innovating our way towards a net zero future, and meeting that target is absolutely essential if we want to improve the economy, our homes and living standards.
“Far from harming people, this is about looking at how we can improve everyone’s quality of life, while ratcheting down our impact on the planet.
“The growth opportunity for British innovators and business, if we grasp the nettle early, was espoused heavily in Conservative Government’s own Mission Zero report, while recent analysis by the Confederation of British Industry has shown the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy.
“So, net zero is already in train, our members and the built environment industry are fully behind it, and it’s widely documented that the longer we delay, the costs increase vastly.
“We do agree that it’s essential that as we shift towards a net zero future that we do so in a fair way, and we need to shape the policies to ensure there are no unjust social impacts.
“But it’s eminently possible; as has been demonstrated with the design of the proposed warm homes stamp duty – where environmental improvements in our homes are rewarded with a tax rebate when they’re sold, but people in the most vulnerable situations are protected from the costs.”
Will Walker, UK Policy lead at climate solutions charity Ashden, said:
“Kemi Badenoch’s announcement that the Conservatives will abandon the 2050 net zero target — a target introduced by Theresa May and supported across party lines — is a reckless step backwards that flies in the face of public sentiment, economic sense, and Conservative values.
“Polls consistently show broad public backing for net zero. Moreover, this decision will only shorten the fuse on the Conservative party’s ticking time bomb: a loss of support among young people. A large majority of young people in the UK report anxiety about their future in the face of climate change as we see day in day out through our Let’s Go Zero work in schools.
“The latest CBI research shows the green economy is growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, and the Climate Change Committee’s latest analysis confirms that net zero is far from ‘impossible’ as Badenoch claims. Indeed, their analysis shows the investment required to reach net zero is far lower than previously thought and typical household bills will be cut by £700. The price of delay will be steep: higher energy bills, food price volatility, flood damage, and continued dependence on unstable international energy markets. Delay is a false economy, and it is clear the motivation here is to woo Reform voters.”
