UK’s net zero leadership is under threat

LESS than a year ago, the United Kingdom sought to lead the world on climate change at COP 26 in Glasgow. However, there is now a significant right-wing backlash against this agenda which threatens to undermine over a decade of UK bipartisan policy consensus.

That period of bipartisanship can be dated back to at least 2007 when there was cross-party support for the United Kingdom becoming the first country in the world to introduce legally binding targets to reduce carbon emissions. That measure, introduced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government, was followed up with successive measures by Conservative administrations culminating last year in London setting the world’s most ambitious climate change target, cutting emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.

Although the UK’s two most recent premiers Theresa May and Boris Johnson signed up to a 2050 UK net zero target too, the political ground in their Conservative Party may now be crumbling under this. From the right wing, there is a significant campaign underway to undermine these commitments in a manner that some suggest is not dissimilar to the weakening of UK support for the EU.