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Climate scientists and experts in environmental law comment on the Conservative Party’s proposed plan to repeal the Climate Change Act 2008, should they win power at the next general election. To arrange interviews with the experts named below, contact the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk

Professor Hannah Cloke said: “When the Conservatives were in power, they rightly supported action to decarbonise the UK economy and support global efforts to do the same. There is a mountain of evidence, supported by decades of British-led science and research, that shows decarbonising is the best option for our country and the world, and comes with many long-term benefits.

“A week on from Trump's anti-science climate denial rant at the UN, and now the Tories are abandoning their evidence-based policy in favour of something which looks more like  claptrap from a pub bore.

“If the Conservatives want to conserve anything of our British climate, our economy, or our way of life, they will need policies that help to reduce our risk of climate breakdown, not policies that accelerate a plummet into a super-heated future unseen on our planet for 3 million years.”

Professor Chris Hilson said: “The Climate Change Act may have been introduced by a Labour Government, but it was the Conservatives under Theresa May as Prime Minister, who set reaching net zero by 2050 as the UK’s target under the Act. The Act does not force government to do anything. It encourages UK governments to stick to their international promises on reducing emissions. And it ensures they have concrete plans for doing so on a measured trajectory towards 2050. The Act has been widely copied by countries around the world who want to solve the problem of climate change collectively and fairly.

“The idea that the Act destroys UK competitiveness and adds to costs for UK consumers is simply not true. The UK’s electricity costs for industry are high because we don’t yet have enough cheap renewables. These prices will come down in the medium term to the benefit of consumers. The Conservative approach, like President Trump’s, would lock in the UK to the old fossil fuel economy of the past. There is no lasting growth there. The Labour government rightly sees a decarbonised economy as setting the UK up much better for the future. The Act encourages that. That’s where the jobs and growth are. Markets will get us there, but industry needs targets and it needs governments to stick to those targets so they can plan to deliver that growth. By setting a mandatory target, that’s what the law in the shape of the Act ensures here.”

Professor Benoit Mayer said: “The Climate Change Act 2008 set the UK on a long-term pathway to decarbonise its economy. Repealing this major piece of legislation would send a terrible message to the world, suggesting that the UK is no longer intended to assume its responsibility on the global scene at the very time when states have agreed on the need to increase their ambition. It would also be a short-sighted move from an economic perspective as it would hinder the development of a highly lucrative green industry in the country.”

Professor Ed Hawkins said: “Climate change is already making people's lives more difficult through more frequent floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather. Without continued and rapid climate action we're essentially throwing away the tools halfway through fixing the problem. We will regret not acting faster on climate change.”

Professor Andy Turner said: “In the space of only five years, the Conservative Party have gone from ‘follow the science’ to ‘follow the ignorant’.

“We’ve known for decades that greenhouse gas emissions lead to warming of the planet, and the evidence for this only strengthens with each new climate report from the IPCC.  Each fraction of a degree of extra warming that we don’t prevent will lead to worsening floods, droughts, heatwaves, and other extreme weather in the UK and across the world. 

“Far from giving us greater energy security and lower costs, repealing the Climate Change Act and deprioritising investments in and expansions of renewable energy will make us more reliant on foreign fossil fuel imports, often from questionable regimes and now-unreliable allies.  In the long run, we will also suffer economically due to worsening food, energy, and water security across the world, leading to more conflict and migration. 

“Where we could be seen as a world leader in shaping green policy, invention, and investment, this will set us back years.”

Dr Jess Neumann said: “This is not the first time the Conservatives have vocalised their desire to water down the UK’s responsibility to act on climate change. 

“Plans such as abandoning the UK’s commitment to net-zero by 2050 and maximising extraction of North Sea oil and gas flies in the face of the scientific evidence put before them. 

“As a country we are not ready to deal with climate change, we are not prepared for more extreme weather, or the continued loss of wildlife and biodiversity. 

“Their attention should be on long-term planning - driving forward renewable energy, protecting our landscapes and working on climate adaptation and mitigation.”