London, 3rd October. The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) today welcomes the pledge of the Leader of the Opposition to scrap the Climate Change Act.
The Climate Change Act, passed in 2008 and updated in 2019, imposed legally binding five-year plans known as “carbon budgets” and locked the UK into a rigid target of “Net Zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Act has been described as a constitutional “straitjacket”, effectively compelling successive parliaments to implement draconian restrictions and deliver emissions reductions regardless of the consequences. Those consequences have included Britain having some of the highest energy costs in the world, forcing many businesses to close and worsening fuel poverty.
Originally opposed by only five MPs in 2008, the subsequent motion to upgrade the target to “Net Zero” in 2019 was nodded through without even a Parliamentary vote. A comfortable Westminster consensus meant that its implications were never properly debated; a consensus that has at last broken down.
Lord Lilley, who was one of those five, has welcomed the move, saying:
“I voted against the Climate Change Act for the simple reason that the costs exceeded the benefits. It was absurd to embark on a unilateral course of action when other countries were not following suit, and it gave the courts powers that should have belonged to politicians. I am glad that Badenoch has grasped what previous leaders could not see.”
The Act created the unaccountable Climate Change Committee (CCC), which was given the ability to draft influential carbon budgets, while being protected from scrutiny. This allowed lobbyists, bureaucrats and judges to shape climate policy, rather than the needs of ordinary people.
Responding to the announcement, GWPF Director, Lord Mackinlay, said:
“This is an important moment. Many of us have campaigned for a long time to highlight the devastating economic harm that the Climate Change Act has wrought. Britain cannot thrive while shackled to a failed experiment in central planning.”
GWPF Head of Policy, Harry Wilkinson, said:
“Repealing the Climate Change Act is the first essential step towards a more rational and affordable energy strategy. This is not about abandoning environmental goals, but replacing arbitrary and impractical targets with a framework that restores choice, accountability, and pragmatism.”
Contact: harry.wilkinson@thegwpf.org