Kemi Badenoch seems to think she has lobbed a grenade into the sanctimonious eco-consensus, but it may be a dud. The UK’s 2050 Net Zero target, she says, is kaput. ‘Impossible,’ she called it, without bankrupting the nation or slashing living standards to levels that’d make a medieval serf wince. Cue the predictable wailing from the green lobby and Labour’s sanctimonious Ed Miliband, but let’s get one thing straight – this isn’t Badenoch rejecting Net Zero itself, just a slowing of the breakneck, self-flagellating sprint towards it. And here’s the kicker: she is not some climate-denying heretic. She’s been on the bandwagon before, zealously waving the green flag as Business Secretary in 2022, touting the ‘clean energy revolution’ as a golden ticket to ‘growth and revitalised communities’. So, what’s changed? Reality, that’s what.
Badenoch’s not torching the idea of cleaner energy; she’s just pointing out the bleeding obvious: that the current timetable is a fantasy cooked up by Theresa May’s government in 2019, a parting gift of pious legislation with no roadmap. She’s not against Net Zero policies, per se – she’s still muttering about consulting ‘experts’ to find a sensible target – but she’s had enough of the kamikaze pace.
Let’s talk brass tacks. UK energy bills are already eyewatering – up again in January 2025, with another hike looming in April. Why? Gas prices, sure, but also the relentless push to decarbonise faster than a greyhound on speed. Labour’s manifesto promised £8.3 billion for Great British Energy to sprinkle some renewable fairy dust, cutting bills by £300 by 2030. Cute story, but the reality’s grim: renewables might (and that’s a big might) be cheaper to run once they’re up, but the upfront costs and grid upgrades are monstrous. And gas? Still king, still expensive and still imported.
Compare that to our competitors. The UK’s industrial electricity prices are among the highest in Europe – higher than France, Germany and even the US. Investors aren’t daft; they’re pulling out – and fast. Jobs? Exporting them to places like Poland or India, where energy’s cheaper and the eco-guilt trip’s lighter. Miliband’s accelerated decarbonisation isn’t just a noble crusade, it’s economic seppuku, and Badenoch’s half clocked it.
Here’s the dirty little secret the eco-zealots hate admitting: the UK’s carbon footprint is a rounding error globally. We’re at 1% of emissions, while China’s belching out 30% and climbing. Even if we hit Net Zero tomorrow, shut every factory and banned farting cows, the planet wouldn’t notice. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says global CO2 must hit net zero by 2050 to cap warming at 1.5℃, but that’s a collective effort. Us playing martyr while Beijing builds coal plants like it’s 19th-century Manchester? It’s like mopping the floor during a monsoon. Badenoch’s not wrong to ask: why are we breaking our backs, and our wallets, for negligible impact?
Then there’s Reform UK, the rabble-rousers who’d rather burn the Climate Change Act than frame it. Their pitch? Scrap the lot, Net Zero targets, subsidies for windmills, the works, and fire up that new gas field in Lincolnshire. It’s not just bluster; it’s a lifeline. Domestic gas means energy security – no more begging Vladimir Putin or the Middle East for scraps. It’s cheaper, too, than the volatile global market or the billions sunk into intermittent renewables. Hook that to a grid that doesn’t collapse every time the wind drops, and suddenly UK plc can compete again.
Reform are not pretending climate change isn’t real – they just don’t care about performative virtue when jobs are bleeding overseas. Lincolnshire’s gas could power homes, factories, and a manufacturing renaissance, all while keeping bills down and investors interested. Badenoch is slowing the Net Zero train; Reform want to turn it around. And in a world where energy’s the lifeblood of economic survival, they have a point.
Kemi Badenoch’s shift isn’t a middle finger to Net Zero, but it’s showing a little ankle to harsh reality. She’s not binning the concept, just the suicidal 2050 deadline, a stance she’s flipped to from her greener days in government. Energy costs are crippling us, and Labour are determined to make it worse. Our global impact is a fart in a hurricane, and Reform are ready to ditch the dogma and tap what’s under our feet. The UK’s got a choice: keep genuflecting to the eco-gods while the economy tanks, or get real, power up and fight to win. Badenoch is hedging her bets; Reform are all in. Either way, the old consensus is toast, and about bloody time.
Click here to subscribe to our daily briefing – the best pieces from CapX and across the web.
CapX depends on the generosity of its readers. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
