"Conservatives cannot now be trusted on the environment or the economy"
Scotland’s climate coalition has hit out at plans by the Conservatives to repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has vowed to repeal the Climate Change Act if the Conservatives win the next election, doing away with controls on greenhouse gas emissions and dismantling what has been the cornerstone of green and energy policy for successive governments.
The Conservative party leader was already committed to scrapping the UK’s net zero target but repeal of the Climate Change Act would go much further and remove the need to meet “carbon budgets” – ceilings, set for five-year periods, on the amount of greenhouse gas that can be emitted – and disband the Climate Change Committee, the watchdog that advises on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint.
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland chair Mike Robinson said: “Scrapping the legislation would be incredibly reckless, inflicting direct harm on UK citizens as well as having impacts worldwide.
“The Climate Change Act was created as a way of protecting people and communities against the worst impacts of rising global temperature, which is wreaking havoc across the world and threatening the fundamental systems we rely on for survival.
“Since the UK laws were introduced with widespread support, we have seen progress made, with emissions halved compared to 1990 levels. To repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act would be not only ill-advised and irresponsible, but also flies in the face of science and public opinion.”
Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute, at the London School of Economics, said: “The claim that keeping Britain dependent on fossil fuels is good for economic growth is demonstrably false. Our dependence on fossil fuels causes high prices for electricity and heating for businesses and households.
"We are experiencing growing costs from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and more intense and frequent extreme weather events.
“The only pro-growth strategy is to invest in domestic clean energy. It is clear that the Conservatives cannot now be trusted on the environment or the economy.”
