The UK Must Not U-Turn On Climate Action

Britain has a hard-won reputation for keeping a stiff upper lip and muddling through challenges. That is why it is particularly ironic that this most recent age of British politics has been beset by inconstancy. Such an approach does not provide the opportunity to be great. Much like a patient who fails to finish a course of antibiotics, inconstant policies may incur all the costs and none of the benefits.

In spite of this, Britain has achieved meaningful climate progress. From its ambitious commitment to reduce emissions (its Nationally Determined Contribution) to its leadership in making London a green financial hub, the UK has been a climate leader. This has been a source of pride for both Labour and the Conservatives. Now, that nonpartisan commitment to confront the greatest issue of our time, climate change, has fractured.

Net-Zero Will Not “Bankrupt” the UK

Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch backtracked from policies embraced by her Tory predecessors when it comes to climate. She asserts that net-zero will “bankrupt” the country, yet she offers no evidence. The data overwhelmingly contradicts her. The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) and National Energy System Operator (NESO) have outlined detailed, feasible pathways to reach net-zero by 2050—pathways that are not only affordable but already being delivered.

The costs of inaction are staggering. A study by Oxford University found that nature degradation, exacerbated by climate change, could cause a 12% loss in UK GDP by 2050. On the opportunity side, in Britain’s search for growth, few sectors have grown faster than the net-zero economy. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the net-zero economy is expanding at three times the rate of the wider economy. The bedrock of net zero policy rests economic pragmatism, not idealism.

The Global Race for Green Leadership

Badenoch’s stance also misreads the climate reality and global economics. More than 80% of the world’s population and economic output comes from nations committed to net-zero targets. From the EU to China, countries are racing forward with their clean energy investments. Europe has its Clean Industrial Deal. China invested nearly $1 TN last year. Even the now embattled Inflation Reduction Act in the US has mobilized hundreds of billions for renewables and green industries. Even with Trump in the White House, state-level action and private capital are keeping up the energy on green innovation.

Meanwhile, China dominates clean technology supply chains, from solar panels to batteries. For the UK to compete in this shifting landscape, it needs to leverage its strengths, both as a financial hub and as the seat of globally leading educational institutions. With the right policies, the UK can be both a leading centre of green investment and a technological innovator.

The Conservatives once saw the opportunity in net zero. Theresa May’s 2019 government made the UK the first major economy in the world to enshrine net zero in law. Indeed, Margaret Thatcher was one of the first world leaders to discuss the climate challenge. Yet now, the Conservatives are increasingly out of step with the energy transition and the direction of travel foreseen by global investors and the UK’s international peers. If the UK signals that it is retreating from climate leadership, investment will simply go elsewhere.

Energy Security and the Real Cost of Delay

Another fundamental flaw in Badenoch’s argument is the claim that net-zero would make the UK’s energy supply less secure. The opposite is true. The UK remains deeply dependent on imported fossil fuels, which leaves it highly vulnerable to price volatility. The energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made this painfully clear. The real threat to energy security is continued reliance on fossil fuels, not a transition away from them.

The government’s own analysis shows that moving to a clean power system by 2030 would dramatically cut the UK’s exposure to international gas markets. NESO projects that as renewables expand, the UK’s reliance on gas to set electricity prices will drop from nearly 100% today to just 15% by 2030. Green energy means lower, more stable energy prices for businesses and households alike.

Public Support for Climate Action

A U-turn on climate action is both intellectually dishonest and an electoral loser. Climate action has increasingly become a top public priority for Britons. Nearly four in five Britons want the government to do more about climate change, and over two-thirds of the population are somewhat or very concerned by the issue. Even among Reform voters, more are concerned than unconcerned. Attempting to rebrand climate action as an elite-driven agenda is not just factually wrong, it is also a grave political miscalculation.

Leadership Requires Vision, Not Retreat

The UK has shown global leadership on climate. From setting legally binding emissions targets to pioneering green finance regulations, the country has shaped international norms. Successive governments have made climate a winning issue for Britain, and have driven investment in offshore wind, heat pumps, hydrogen, and carbon capture.

Walking away from climate commitments now would not only isolate the UK from its international peers but also signal to businesses, investors, and global markets that Britain is walking away from the industries of the future.

The low-carbon transition is a fundamental change in the operating system of the global economy. The UK can either lead and thrive or fall behind and be consigned to economic irrelevance. Rejecting net-zero is not just abandoning climate responsibility but also undermining the UK’s future prosperity.

Britain led the world into the fossil age. With determination and grit, it can lead the world out of it.