Tory leadership contenders urged to ignore ‘siren voices’ pushing them to ditch net zero promises
Conservative Party leadership contenders have been urged to ignore the “siren voices” pushing them to ditch the UK government’s plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
A group of net zero sceptics on the Tory back benches are hoping to move Boris Johnson’s would-be successors away from green policies, as climate change shapes up to be a major battle in the contest to choose the next prime minister.
Senior Tory MP Steve Baker – founder of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of backbenchers – has suggested that he would push for the next PM to dismantle the government’s climate agenda.
Some in the party fear top contenders such as Nadhim Zahawi and Liz Truss could be pressured into prioritising tax cuts over investment in renewable energy, as well as committing to an expansion of oil and gas production.
Tory peer Zac Goldsmith, who has attacked Rishi Sunak’s environmental record, told The Independent it would be better to have a Labour government than a leader who “deprioritises” action on net zero.
Lord Goldsmith added: “It would be a catastrophic error for Conservatives to select a candidate who deprioritises these issues, but if they do, then we can only hope voters replace the party at the available election.”
Chris Skidmore, a senior backbencher who chairs the Tories’ rival Net Zero Support Group, has vowed to push candidates to uphold Britain’s climate commitments.
“We can’t put net zero at risk,” the former energy minister told The Independent. “I devoutly believe net zero is a vote winner. If we go soft on net zero, then a candidate has to know they will struggle to win a general election.”
Warning contenders to ignore the “siren voices” of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, Mr Skidmore pointed to recent polling, which shows that ditching net zero could cost the Tories 1.3 million votes.
“I’m absolutely determined to make sure net zero policies are put forward,” said the MP, who signed the commitment to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050 into law when he was energy minister in 2019.
Mr Skidmore added: “It’s a policy that unites the red wall in the North and blue-wall seats in the South, because there are plans to deliver massive investment in renewable energy in red-wall seats.”
However, Mr Baker and his ally Craig Mackinlay MP, who is chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, are hoping that policies aimed at achieving net zero by 2050 can be rolled back.
Mr Baker, who on Friday withdrew his leadership pitch and backed Suella Braverman, said on Thursday that he wanted to see more domestic gas production, and an end to the drive to boost renewable energy.
“We are at risk from extreme green policies,” he told The Guardian – saying he believed there was “no short-term threat” from the climate crisis.
Mr Mackinlay told The Independent: “I will require a new leader to bring a new realism to the net zero enterprise that reflects the changed world [in terms] of the need for energy security and lower costs.”
Earlier this year, a group of 20 MPs in the sceptics’ group – including former ministers Esther McVey and Robert Halfon – called for green levies to be scrapped from energy bills. The levies help to pay for investment in renewable energy.
MPs in the group have also pushed for further cuts to fuel duty, despite warnings that this would undermine the move towards electric vehicles. Mr Mackinlay has also questioned the government’s target to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
Environmentalists are also worried by cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg’s recent call for “every last drop” of oil and gas to be extracted from the North Sea, and his desire to see the temporary ban on fracking lifted to boost shale gas production.
Green MP Caroline Lucas has warned against more North Sea drilling, and urged all those bidding to be the next PM to rule out approval for a new deep coal mine in Cumbria, after the decision was delayed by Mr Johnson’s resignation.
