Sir Tony Blair has called for a major rethink of net zero policies, arguing that limiting energy consumption and fossil fuel production is “doomed to fail”.
In a new report, the former Labour prime minister says voters “feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know the impact on global emissions is minimal”.
He does not call for Labour to halt its push to decarbonise the UK economy – but says all governments need to rethink their approach, as it is not working.
The Tories – who have joined Reform UK in opposing net zero emissions by 2050 – urged Labour to end the “mad dash” to this goal – but Downing Street said it would not be changing course.
In its report The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change, the Tony Blair Institute argues that global institutions such as COP and the UN have failed to make sufficient progress in halting climate change.
At the same time, it argues, the public have lost faith in climate policies because the promised green jobs and economic growth have failed to materialise, thanks in part to global instability and the Covid pandemic.
Writing in the foreword, Sir Tony says: “Though most people will accept that climate change is a reality caused by human activity, they’re turning away from the politics of the issue because they believe the proposed solutions are not founded on good policy.”
He says “any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail”.
He also warns against the “alarmist” tone of the debate on climate change, which he says is “riven with irrationality”.
The report calls for the rapid deployment of carbon capture and storage technology, greater use of AI to make energy grids efficient and investment in small scale nuclear reactors.
It also argues for a greater focus on climate change mitigation measures such as flood defences and a new international push to persuade China and India to cut emissions.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, the author of the report dismissed claims that the foundation was rejecting net zero targets, saying it “is a paper that is about increased climate ambition”.
Lindy Fursman, director of climate and energy policy at the Tony Blair Institute, said: “We are certainly not rejecting net zero targets. The paper is really clear that we need to keep these because of the certainty they provide for businesses.”
Ms Fursman said the report was “pointing out that while many economies are doing well, we need to do more, particularly in the global picture because global emissions continue to rise”.
Downing Street said it would not be changing course on net zero – and rejected Sir Tony’s suggestions that the public was no longer prepared to make sacrifices to meet green goals.
“We will reach net zero in a way that treads lightly on people’s lives, not telling them how to live or behave,” said the prime minister’s official spokesman.
“Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, one that has the potential to reignite our industrial heartlands, create good jobs for the future and lower bills in the long term.”
The government claims its net zero strategy is already delivering results, with £43bn of private investment since last July and that its climate policies “now support around 600,000 jobs across the UK”.
Labour sources are also pushing back against claims Sir Keir Starmer is going cold on the net zero agenda, pointing to a speech he made last week in which he said the clean energy mission was “in the DNA of my government”.
Reacting in the Commons to Sir Tony’s comments in the report, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he agreed “with a lot of what it says” particularly on carbon capture and storage and AI “which the government are doing”.
But Labour’s opponents were quick to seize on the former prime minister’s words.
Writing on social media, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Even Tony Blair now says the push for Net Zero has become ‘irrational’ and ‘hysterical’. We are winning the argument!”
Conservative acting shadow energy secretary, Andrew Bowie said the government needed to “urgently change course”.
“It seems even Tony Blair has come to the realisation that Keir Starmer and the Labour Party’s mad dash to net zero by 2050 is simply not feasible, or sustainable,” he added.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “Blair is wrong, both morally and pragmatically. The British public understands the need for decisive climate action and expects politicians to lead in delivering this action.”
Sir Tony’s intervention has also been met with dismay by Labour-supporting environmental groups.
One campaigner told the BBC: “This is an oddly public and oddly-timed intervention that would usually be made by someone struggling for access.
“The Labour government are getting on with many of the policies outlined in the report because they know this is popular with people, especially the voting coalition they need to maintain for the next election.
“But adopting the anti-net-zero framing of [Tory leader Kemi] Badenoch and Reform is out of step with where the public are on this issue and will not help Labour.”
A Liberal Democrats spokesperson said: “There is no doubt that the last Conservative government set us back by failing to invest in cheap, clean energy and home insulation.
“But that makes it all the more important that we act with urgency now, to bring down energy bills and emissions, free ourselves from reliance on Putin’s gas, and restore the UK’s role as a world-leader in the clean technology of the future and the jobs that go with it.”
