Liz Truss must hold to the legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, parliamentarians from all of the UK’s major parties have urged in a letter to the incoming prime minister.
Truss has pledged to keep the target, but her campaign promises to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea, voices support for fracking, and her opposition to onshore wind and solar farms have led to fears that she could renege on actions needed to meet the target.
Her appointment of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former minister for Brexit opportunities, as secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy has also raised concerns among climate campaigners and energy experts.
Rees-Mogg has cast doubt on the need to tackle the climate crisis in the past, and has vowed to “squeeze every last cubic inch of gas from the North Sea”. He also supports fracking, while opposing onshore wind power generation.
The group of 29 MPs and peers from the all-party parliamentary group on the environment have written to Truss asking her to recommit to net zero and push forward with measures that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help to bring down soaring energy bills.
“The decisions your government takes will have a noticeable impact on the lives of people across the country and indeed our entire planet,” they wrote, in a letter seen by the Guardian. “We hope that as prime minister you will continue to support measures to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner in this country, whilst also being a global champion for climate and nature on the international stage.”
They call for her to recommit to net zero, and to “getting the UK on track to meet its legally binding carbon budgets”; to boost renewable energy; to put in place a national scheme for home insulation; and to reaffirm the government’s goals on conserving wildlife and the natural environment.
Chris Skidmore, the Tory former energy minister who is chair of the APPG, and coordinated the letter, told the Guardian he was “not worried” that Truss would row back on commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
“The government is pro net zero, and the prime minister has said she wants to double down on net zero, in a more business-friendly and private enterprise way,” he said. “I’m absolutely determined for people to see net zero as a mainstream economic issue, a huge opportunity for job creation and levelling up. It’s very important that net zero is not seen as a culture war, left-wing project – it’s actually an economic growth strategy.”
Skidmore is thought to have turned down a potential job as energy minister under Rees-Mogg for personal reasons. Rees-Mogg is expected to oversee the energy portfolio himself, rather than appointing a junior to the role.
Skidmore said the business secretary would be bound by the collective responsibility of the cabinet, and be ruled by Truss in policy, regardless of any other views on the climate crisis. “The direction is set from the top. I’m sure whoever is secretary of state will abide by collective responsibility, and the prime minister sees net zero as an opportunity to deliver economic growth,” he said.
Ben Goldsmith, a prominent green Tory, investor and chair of the Conservative Environment Network, told the Guardian that Rees-Mogg had “not yet sought to make a name for himself as a campaigner for protecting the natural world”.
But he added a veiled warning that voters were in favour of green policies: “It is quite clear that the overwhelming majority of people in this country want strong action now to avert a climate catastrophe, they want the restoration of nature at home, and they want Britain to lead international efforts on these things. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be a very smart move for any politician to turn their back on this vital agenda now.”
The letter reminds Truss of the UK’s hosting of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last year, and asks her to attend the UN biodiversity Cop15 summit in December, at which countries are expected to commit to a goal of halting the decline of species and protect 30% of land by 2030.
“As host of Cop26 during your time as foreign secretary and now as prime minister, you will have seen the truly global impact UK policymaking and our government can have,” the letter said.
The 29 parliamentarians signing the letter from the APPG include Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey and Kim Leadbeater, Wera Hobhouse and Lady Parminter of the Liberal Democrats, Douglas Chapman of the Scottish National Party, Ben Lake of Plaid Cymru, and Caroline Lucas, the UK’s only Green Party MP.
