Kemi Badenoch to describe UK's 2050 net zero target as "impossible": comment

"Given that we need to reach net zero emissions to stop greenhouse gases increasing and so the ever worsening floods and heatwaves driven by climate change, any sense of giving up on the goal 25 years before the finish line, particularly when the UK has made good progress, seems premature.

"It is certainly technologically and economically feasible for the UK to hit net zero emissions and the clear majority of the British public back the net zero emissions target seeing renewables and clean technology as the top growth sector. The UK’s net zero economy grew by 10% in 2024 [2], and momentum towards renewables and electrification globally is only going in one direction, so any signal of a slowdown is a recipe for investor uncertainty and economic jeopardy.

"It was a Conservative government that provided global leadership in setting a net zero emissions target since which more than three-quarters of global GDP is now covered by a net zero commitment." 
 

Is net zero by 2050 possible? 

• The UK Climate Change Committee concluded in its 2019 report on net zero report that it is “technically feasible by 2050 but highly challenging”. It states: “Net-zero is necessary, feasible and cost-effective. Necessary – to respond to the overwhelming evidence of the role of greenhouse gases in driving global climate change, and to meet the UK’s commitments as a signatory of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Feasible – because the technologies and approaches that will deliver net-zero are now understood and can be implemented with strong leadership from government. Cost effective – because falls in the cost of key technologies permit net-zero within the very same costs that were accepted as the likely costs by Parliament in 2008 when it legislated the present 2050 target.” 
   
• The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget advice launched three weeks ago provides “an ambitious, deliverable pathway for the UK to reach Net Zero by 2050, based on detailed modelling of cost-effective, feasible decarbonisation options.” 
   
• The very low GHG emissions scenario (SSP1-1.9) in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2023 Synthesis Report has CO2 emissions declining to net zero around 2050, followed by varying levels of net negative CO2 emissions.
   
• In its Global Energy and Climate Model of 2024, the International Energy Agency’s ‘Net Zero Emissions by 2050’ scenario “shows a pathway for the global energy sector to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, with advanced economies reaching net zero emissions in advance of others. This scenario also meets key energy-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular universal energy access by 2030 and major improvements in air quality. It is consistent with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C (with at least a 50% probability) with limited overshoot, in line with reductions assessed in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Report.” 
   
• The very low GHG emissions scenario (SSP1-1.9) in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2023 Synthesis Report has CO2 emissions declining to net zero around 2050, followed by varying levels of net negative CO2 emissions. 

Do the public support net zero by 2050? 

• Climate Barometer’s YouGov poll from October 2024 shows that 65% of British adults support the net zero target, compared to 22% who oppose it. 

What do businesses say about net zero by 2050? 

• The Confederation of British Industry strongly supported the Net Zero target being signed into law, stating: “UK business stands squarely behind the Government’s commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. This legislation is the right response to the global climate crisis, and firms are ready to play their part in combating it.” 
  
  It stated in a 2024 report: “This is a global race the UK has the strategic potential to lead. As the first major economy to sign net zero into law, the UK has reduced emissions faster than our competitors. We’ve set internationally leading targets. Most importantly, we have a business community keen to secure the sustainable growth the UK’s transition can bring.” 

What progress towards net zero by 2050 has already been made? 

• All three carbon budgets as set out by the Climate Change Committee have been achieved – most recently the third carbon budget, covering the period 2018-22. 
   
• Carbon Brief analysis shows the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.6% in 2024, as coal use dropped to the lowest level since 1666. Based on preliminary government energy data, emissions fell to just 371m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2024, the lowest level since 1872.