In 2019, one of Theresa May’s last acts as Prime Minister was to lay down legislation to commit the UK to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. It was a landmark, world-first moment that put the UK on a decades-long path to a ‘cleaner, greener form of growth’
Her successor as Conservative Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, took up the cause with much vigour – particularly around the CO26 conference in Glasgow in 2021. Launching the Net Zero Strategy the same year, he said:
‘The UK’s path to ending our contribution to climate change will be paved with well-paid jobs, billions in investment and thriving green industries – powering our green industrial revolution across the country’.
Although words were often not backed up by plans for credible delivery, the former PM was, at least, intellectually bought-in to the benefits and opportunities that net zero could bring.
Only a few years later, however, the cross-party consensus has shattered.
A fractured consensus
Following a Met Office report that found that ‘temperature and rainfall extremes are becoming the norm’ in the UK, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, secured a rare urgent statement in the House of Commons (which he called ‘an exercise in radical truth-telling’).
The debate exposed the divisions in the political class around climate change and net zero. As Johnson once did, Miliband framed climate action not merely as moral responsibility but as central to Britain’s economic prosperity and strategic interest. He positioned net zero as a pillar of national renewal, economic growth, and industrial revival.
As the war in Ukraine and cost of living crisis started to bite, net zero policies increasingly became a political target. Sceptics began to frame these policies as a convenient scapegoat, linking them in the public mind to rising household costs. The expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, for example, was widely seen as a factor in the Conservative victory at the Uxbridge by-election. In the aftermath, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak moved to delay or scrap several net zero measures. Green levies also came under scrutiny as energy bills surged.
Kemi Badenoch, a longstanding critic of the net zero agenda, has overseen a further retreat from previous commitments during her leadership. Andrew Bowie MP, the Shadow Minister, distanced his party from previous consensus positions and accused the government of dishonesty about the true costs of net zero. He dismissed the 2050 target as ‘unachievable without making the country worse off’ and challenged the premise that the UK’s actions could meaningfully impact global temperatures.
The dividing line is no longer over how best to reach net zero, but whether it is a viable or desirable goal at all. Labour continues to present climate action as a vehicle for national renewal, backed by public investment, economic opportunity, and moral obligation. The Conservatives now frame it as an elite-driven burden, out of step with public concern and industrial reality (Reform UK, currently well ahead in the polls, have gone further – Andrea Jenkyns, mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said last week that ‘climate change doesn’t exist’).
Public support for net zero
However, beneath this political division, public support for net zero remains robust. Polling consistently reveals strong support among the British public for the 2050 targets (almost two thirds endorse it), including significant backing from Conservative voters. Over half of Reform UK voters also back ‘policies to stop climate change and put in place targets accordingly to keep the UK on track’.
Practical climate actions – renewable energy projects, improved public transport, home insulation programmes – command even higher levels of approval. Surveys from DfE and DESNZ further underline widespread public concern about climate change and a genuine willingness to engage in personal action.
Media-driven misconceptions, casting climate initiatives as threats to personal freedoms or economic stability, dissipate when confronted with clear and factual explanations. Public acceptance notably increases when policies are clearly articulated, as demonstrated by rising support for the 2030 petrol and diesel car phase-out once people understand the full picture.
Rebuilding consensus
Beneath the political fracturing in political narrative, support for net zero remains widespread with the public. Most voters (around two thirds) still back the 2050 target. Even more want to see investment in renewables, improvements to public transport, and lower energy bills through better-insulated homes.
The difficulty lies in how this support is understood – and often underestimated – by elected representatives. Recent research shows that MPs regularly misjudge the mood of their constituents, particularly on climate. This disconnect is fuelled by the louder voices that dominate social media and constituency correspondence. It means politicians hear more from opponents of climate action than the middle-ground.
Repairing that gap begins with clearer, more grounded engagement. The case for net zero must be made in practical terms. Policies should be framed around the benefits people can see and feel: lower bills, energy security, warmer homes and economic opportunity. Over a million people in the UK, for example, are already driving electric – cutting around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon a year, saving on fuel, and helping make streets quieter and cleaner for everyone. The market is only growing and becoming more accessible.
Dry policy language and long-term targets need to give way to stories that speak to real benefits and re-emphasise that the net zero transition is ultimately about saving our planet.
There is still time for political leadership. Labour has a chance to define a vision for net zero that feels rooted in fairness and delivery. For the Conservatives, restoring credibility on climate would mean reconnecting with their own record of environmental responsibility, rather than drifting further into culture-war territory as it seeks to woo Reform voters.
The challenge now is not just to persuade the public, but to equip political leaders with a story of net zero that feels achievable, rooted in practical outcomes and a key part of our national renewal.Find out more about our work on net zero
