UK net zero target by 2050 is ‘impossible’ without bankrupting Britain, says Kemi Badenoch
18 March 2025, 00:56
The Tory leader said the UK’s target to reach net zero by 2050 is ‘impossible’ in a break from longstanding political consensus, sparking backlash from environmental groups.
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Badenoch is expected to drop the party’s commitment to net zero, which the UK is legally required to reach by 2050, in a speech on Tuesday.
It comes as the Conservative leader launches a wide-reaching ‘policy renewal’ process for the party in which she promises to "confront the real problems".
Badenoch will say she is not making a "moral judgment" on net zero or debating whether climate change exists.
But, she claims that the target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 cannot be achieved "without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us".
The UK is legally committed to achieving net zero, which means cutting emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases to zero, and absorbing any surplus.
The target was set into law by Tory Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.
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Scientists say nations across the planet must reach net zero by 2050 to avoid further wildfires, floods and other natural disasters - which are widely expected to happen due to a lack of sufficient action to reach the goal.
In the speech on Tuesday, Badenoch will say that cutting energy costs and reducing the impact on the environment are "noble aims" but that current policies are "largely failing" to improve nature and "driving up the cost of energy".
“We’ve got to stop pretending to the next generation,” she will say. “We’ve got to stop government by press release.
“It’s exactly the reason that the political class has lost trust. The only way that we can regain it is to tell the unvarnished truth – net zero by 2050 is impossible.”
She will add: "We're falling between two stools - too high costs and too little progress.”
It is unclear what she plans to replace the policy with, but the move marks a sharp break from years of cross-party political consensus.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Kemi Badenoch claims she's ready to 'deal with reality' while remaining in complete denial about the reality of the Tories' appalling record in government.
"The Tory leader's position is at odds with her own historic views. In government, she openly championed net zero. It's clear the Conservatives stand for nothing and have learned absolutely no lessons. They haven't changed."
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On Monday evening, climate change protesters heckled Badenoch on two occasions at an event to commemorate Margaret Thatcher, before being dragged out by security.
The announcement has also triggered anger among Tory environmental groups, who say the leader is ‘making a mistake’ in claiming the target is impossible.
Sam Hall, head of the Conservative Environment Network, said: "It is a mistake for Kemi Badenoch to have jumped the gun on her own policy review and decided net zero isn't possible by 2050.
"This undermines the significant environmental legacy of successive Conservative governments who provided the outline of a credible plan for tackling climate change.
"The important question now is how to build out this plan in a way that supports growth, strengthens security and follows conservative, free market principles."
Hall agreed with Badenoch that Labour's approach risks undermining net zero with higher prices, but said the target is driven "not by optimism but by scientific reality".
"Abandon the science and voters will start to doubt the Conservative Party's seriousness on the clean energy transition, damaging both growth and the fight against climate change."
Greenpeace warned that it is "not the time to step back" on climate action.
"Throwing in the towel on our climate goals means giving up on making life better for British people now and in the future. With green industries growing three times faster than the rest of the UK economy, it also means giving up on the economic opportunity of the century," Greenpeace UK's head of climate Mel Evans said.
