Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said the 2050 net zero target is unachievable and to continue as we are doing will bankrupt us.
In a dramatic shift, she is undoing the policy set up by fromer Tory Prime Minister Theresa May back in 2019, as she says the economics don’t add up and many other nations aren’t holding up their side of the bargain.
In a speech widely previewed she set out her new direction..
Net zero by 2050 is impossible. I don’t say that with pleasure. I want a better future and a better environment for our children. But we have to get real. Anyone who has done any serious analysis knows it cannot be achieved without a significant drop in our living standards or worse, by bankrupting us. Responsible leaders don’t indulge in fictions which are going to make families poorer. Or mortgage their children’s future.”
Mrs Badenoch outlined the case for her turn around, in particular the crippling costs to power homes and businesses.
“The cost of electricity – far too high – much higher than nearby and comparative countries with the real possibility of it going even higher with environmental levies. A big chunk of our existing bills are not direct energy costs. People are struggling to pay businesses, especially manufacturing businesses are closing down and there is no real plan for bringing costs down.
“That surely cannot hold. It’s fantasy politics. Built on nothing. Promising the earth. And costing it too.”
She however said she believed in the aims of net zero and in particular protecting the environment for future generations.
“Cherishing the forests that breathe life into our world, protecting the rivers that nourish our lands, and preserving the landscapes that inspire our souls. It is our duty to safeguard the delicate balance of nature for future generations.
“But the current policies the UK has been implementing are not really doing this while, at the same time, driving up the cost of energy. We’re falling between two stools – too high costs and too little progress.
“And why? Because there’s never, ever been a detailed plan.
“Ed Miliband’s Climate Change Act 2008. No plan. The Carbon budgets. No economic plan. And then in 2019, Parliament legislated for Net Zero by 2050. But no plan. A multi-trillion pound, 30-year project, touching every single aspect of our lives was decided in 90 minutes without a single vote.”
In the full speech she outlines why closing down oil fields vital for the energy transition is a folly, the dithering on nuclear and the legacy of broken promises by all parties, leaving her in no doubt the strategy as is, won’t work.
Her final major point is the UK economy is being shackled by policies while other nations, China in particular, are benefitting.
We are massively exposing ourselves to countries who don’t share our values. Take solar panels – the good news is that costs have dropped in the last decade. But here’s the less good news. Ten years ago, we were heavily dependent on China for all of the key components Today we’re even more dependent.
“What about wind farms? Where do we think that most production is currently? You guessed it, China. Which means they are all produced using Chinese energy 60% of their supply comes from coal fired power stations, they are building a new one every other week to keep up with our demand.”
She concludes:
I’m certainly not debating whether climate change exists. It does. I badly want to leave a much better environmental inheritance for my children and for yours. But it doesn’t look like we are going to get remotely close to net zero by 2050. This is what happens when politics turns into fantasy. Maybe some of it will change. But it doesn’t look promising.”
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