To understand why, we need to remember how the Climate Change Act<\/a> came about. The bill was put forward by the Labour government of Gordon Brown, but it had enthusiastic support from the Conservative opposition, which tabled several amendments to strengthen it. Cameron had concluded that green policies were a good way to modernise his party<\/a> and lead it back into power. <\/p>\n It worked, both for Cameron, who became prime minister in 2010, and for UK climate policy, which has enjoyed a unique period of consensus and stability. Over seven governments, multiple economic crises, Brexit, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, there has been clarity about Britain\u2019s climate change objectives. Policies were chopped and changed, often to the frustration of investors, but the institutional framework was stable and widely appreciated.<\/p>\n The Climate Change Act gives the UK a statutory long-term emissions target \u2013 initially an 80% cut from 1990 levels by 2050, strengthened to net zero by 2050<\/a> by Theresa May, another Tory prime minister. <\/p>\n Progress is managed through a series of five-year carbon budgets, legislated 12 years in advance and monitored by a powerful independent body, the Climate Change Committee (CCC). For much of its existence, the CCC has been chaired by yet another environmentally-minded Tory, Lord Deben (John Gummer). It is this framework the Conservatives now say they want to dismantle.<\/p>\n Husky hugger David Cameron visits Svalbard, Norway, in 2008. Yet the Climate Change Act has delivered, both in terms of process and substance. Indeed, the UK model has been emulated around the world. Nearly 60 countries<\/a> have UK-style climate change laws and over 20 countries<\/a> have CCC-style advisory bodies, cementing the UK\u2019s position as a climate leader.<\/p>\n The act gives the UK a steady institutional rhythm. Relevant businesses and other organisations know the formal set pieces, such as the CCC\u2019s annual report to parliament, and can time their interventions accordingly.<\/p>\n When colleagues and I interviewed people from business and civil society<\/a> about the act a few years ago, they emphasised the predictable process, the clear rules on accountability and the evidence-based discourse it has enabled. This all reduces uncertainty and enables long-term planning.<\/p>\n Importantly, the Climate Change Act has delivered environmentally too. Compared to 1990, UK greenhouse gas emissions are down by 50%. The UK economy now uses three times less carbon per unit of economic output than in 1990. Emissions are at their lowest level since 1872<\/a>. <\/p>\n This trend started before the act, but it was helped and accelerated by it. This is perhaps most noticeable in the radical transformation of the electricity sector: coal has been completely phased out, while offshore wind and other renewables have flourished.<\/p>\n Most people want climate action<\/p>\n Voters value this progress more than politicians appreciate. A University of Oxford survey found that internationally public support for climate action is almost twice as high<\/a> as policymakers assume. In the UK, three out of four people<\/a> are fairly or very concerned about climate change.<\/p>\n Badenoch\u2019s announcement comes just as households are starting to reap the financial benefits of clean technology. Colleagues and I have estimated that four out of five UK households, particularly those owning a car, would be better off if net zero was achieved<\/a>. The typical savings are \u00a3100-\u00a3380 per household and year.<\/p>\n It is true that households do not yet see the benefits of renewables on their energy bills. We are still paying for the high costs of early investments in clean power, before technology and sheer scale brought the price down. <\/p>\n Successive governments have chosen to recoup these learning costs through electricity bills, rather than general taxation, which would have been easier on most households. But recent analysis<\/a> suggests renewables are now cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.<\/p>\n Read more: The policy uncertainty generated by the Tory announcement and similar pronouncements by Reform UK<\/a> will eventually find its way into the risk premiums for investors, though for the time being this effect is still small.<\/p>\n But the reputational damage is immediate. Undoing the act would signal that the UK no longer values the long-term stability that has driven clean investment and made its climate policy admired around the world.<\/p>\n Climate policy requires debate. Deeply political choices need to be made about different decarbonisation strategies, how to pay for necessary investments or the role of controversial technologies like nuclear energy. The past 17 years have shown that these debates are best had within an agreed framework, with support from all major parties. That is what the Climate Change Act provides.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t have time to read about climate change as much as you\u2019d like?![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251007-56-wgdzji.jpg\")
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\n Andrew Parsons \/ PA<\/p>\n
\n We surveyed British MPs \u2013 most don’t know how urgent climate action is<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Imagine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760157447_190_file-20250110-17-yge7uv.png\")
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Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.<\/a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation\u2019s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who\u2019ve subscribed so far.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the mid-2000s, soon after becoming Conservative leader, David Cameron hugged a husky on a trip to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-204640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}