Partygate has suggested that the prime minister has, shall we say, a flexible approach to the rule of law. The laws of physics, you would think, cannot be treated so carelessly – yet that is what is happening inside the Conservative party. There has been a relentless push by some MPs for the UK to abandon our climate targets and slow down, or even abandon, the transition to net zero emissions.
The goal of net zero by 2050 at the latest is not some fashionable green meme or virtue signalling by the comfortable middle classes. It is the measure we must take to keep the already painful and life-threatening impacts of climate change within the bounds of the manageable. This goal is shared not just by scientists and environmental campaigners but by 192 governments, more than 90 major banks and all of the world’s major investment managers.
