Net Zero was never a good idea. Now it's a dangerous one

Yahoo

05-03-2025

Can we make Rishi Sunak prime minister again? I ask this not because he was any good at it, obviously. But because, now that he's no longer in the job, he's finally figured out how to do it.
Or so we must conclude from his big interview on Radio 4 this morning, in which he argued that Britain should abandon its legal commitment to deliver Net Zero. This is, of course, something that he himself could have done during the 20 months in which he was running the country. Only now, however, has he realised that we simply can't afford it.
Well, at least he's got there in the end. Because the truth is: Net Zero was never a good idea. But now it's a dangerous one.
Even before the Government started frantically rummaging down the back of the Treasury sofa to find some extra pennies for defence, it looked far beyond our means. In fact, we were never even certain how huge the bill could grow. Back in 2019, Philip Hammond – the chancellor at the time – predicted that by 2050, pursuing Net Zero would cost Britain more than a trillion – yes, trillion – pounds.
Downing Street rejected his claim. But even today, no one truly knows what the cost will climb to. All we do know is that, with our economy continuing to flatline, and our energy bills continuing to soar, this reckless commitment – made law by Theresa May in the delusional dying days of her own premiership – could ruin us.
And what will we gain, in return for our noble economic self-sacrifice? Not much. Even if we magically achieved Net Zero by three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, this triumph would have a negligible impact on global temperatures – for the obvious reason that we're a very small country, responsible for less than 1 per cent of the planet's annual greenhouse gas emissions. So, unless China, the US, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Iran and all the many other countries with far greater emissions magically achieve Net Zero too, we'll have impoverished ourselves for nothing. Climate change will still have made British beaches as balmy as the Caribbean's. And yet, none of us will even be able to afford an ice cream.
Funny, isn't it. Labour ministers spent their first months in office loudly complaining that the Tories had left them a '£22 billion black hole'. Yet they seem hell-bent on making that 'black hole' even bigger. First with their £18 billion handout to Mauritius as part of their bonkers Chagos Islands deal. And then with Ed Miliband's exciting plans to destroy our remaining industries, deface our countryside and freeze our living rooms.
Still, there is a tiny sliver of hope. Rumour has it that Miliband may be for the chop in a spring reshuffle, with the Government allegedly plotting to dial back on some of his more extortionate schemes. At least by a little, anyway.
So maybe, if we're lucky, Net Zero will end up costing us only half a trillion pounds, instead.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.