The Tory green consensus is breaking – this leadership contest could spell the end of net zero

Protesters urge the rightwing MP, Steve Baker, who set up the increasingly influential Net Zero Scrutiny group, to reconsider his climate-sceptic views. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock

This weekend, I received a call from a well-known green Conservative, telling me to stop using the phrase “net zero” in my articles and tweets about the leadership election. It has become too toxic, he said.

While this was shocking, it wasn’t completely unexpected. None of the leadership candidates so far have made the positive case for green jobs and cheap renewable energy. Instead, the only ones speaking out about climate change are culture warriors Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch, who wish to scrap net zero targets.