‘This Trump style climate denialism is dangerous—for our economy, the planet, and people.’
Kemi Badenoch has been called a “Reform tribute act” and accused of “Trump-style climate denialism” after vowing to repeal the Climate Change Act.
Ahead of Tory party conference this weekend, Badenoch said she would repeal the climate law if the Conservatives win the next general election.
In a recent YouGov poll of voting intentions, the Tories were on just 16%, behind Reform and Labour.
The Climate Change Act 2008 set the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, and was later increased to a 100% reduction in emissions under Theresa May’s government in 2019.
Badenoch said her party would replace the legislation with an energy strategy that prioritises cheap and reliable power, economic growth, and protecting natural landscapes. The strategy would not contain any legally binding net zero targets.
Former Tory MP Gavin Barwell, who was May’s chief of staff when she was prime minister, told Huffington Post UK: “If you look at the US, where policies like these are being enacted, electricity prices are going up, not down. And polling shows Conservative voters support the net zero target.
“There is no future for the Conservative Party in being a Reform tribute act.”
Badenoch claims she still believes in climate change, but is a ‘net zero sceptic’. Over the past 20 years, the Conservatives have received at least £7 million in donations from funders and directors of the climate denial group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation.
On X, Labour MP Luke Murphy slammed the plan, calling it “a sad day for the Conservatives”.
The Basingstoke MP said: “Scrapping the Climate Change Act while claiming to believe in climate change is like admitting gravity exists, jumping out of a plane, and then throwing away your parachute. Belief without action isn’t belief, it’s denial in disguise.”
Former Green MP Caroline Lucas wrote on social media that the “Tory party’s long journey away from science, reason, responsibility, common sense and truth is complete.”
Zero Hour, an environmental group campaigning for the Climate and Nature Bill, a Private Members’ Bill tabled by Lib Dem MP Roz Savage, said: “This Trump-style climate denial is dangerous for our economy, the planet, and people. We need to update the UK’s climate legislation in line with the science, not scrap it.”
Chaitanya Kumar, head of environment and economy at the New Economics Foundation, said: “The campaign against net zero is scientifically and morally bankrupt.”
He added: “Repealing the Act would sacrifice the green industries of the future and prop up the polluting industries of the past. Britain’s net-zero economy is already growing faster than other sectors, with clean energy, electric vehicles and home insulation creating jobs for workers and savings for households. Doubling down on fossil fuels would lock us into higher costs while the rest of the world moves forward.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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