On October 2, 2025, the United Kingdom’s long-standing political consensus on climate change policy was jolted by a dramatic announcement from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. Standing before the press just days ahead of the Conservative Party’s annual conference, Badenoch pledged that, if her party returns to power, it will scrap the UK’s landmark Climate Change Act of 2008 and replace it with a new energy strategy focused on what she called “cheap and reliable” power for British households and businesses.
The move marks a sharp departure from the cross-party support that defined the country’s climate policy for nearly two decades. The Climate Change Act, introduced by the Labour government in 2008 and strengthened by then-Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019, committed the UK to cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2050—later revised to a legally binding “net zero” target by the same year. The Act also established the independent Climate Change Committee to advise the government and monitor progress, a framework that helped inspire similar legislation around the world.
Badenoch’s announcement was unequivocal. “We want to leave a cleaner environment for our children, but not by bankrupting the country,” she declared, according to BBC. “Climate change is real. But Labour’s laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions. Previous Conservative governments tried to make Labour’s climate laws work—they don’t. Under my leadership, we will scrap those failed targets. Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love.”
She argued that the current legislation had become a burden for consumers and businesses alike. The Conservative Party claims the Act forced ministers “to make decisions to meet arbitrary climate targets, even if they make the British people poorer, destroy jobs, and make our economy weaker.” The party pointed to examples such as fines for boiler manufacturers who miss heat pump sales targets, which critics have labeled a “boiler tax.” They also cited Britain’s high electricity costs—fourth highest for domestic consumers of medium usage in Europe and the highest for industrial users—as evidence that the current framework is failing ordinary families and businesses.
Badenoch has not shied away from controversial positions on climate policy in the past. She has previously described the 2050 net zero goal as “impossible” for the UK to achieve, especially if other countries are not following suit. In her words, “We need to do what we can sensibly to tackle climate change, but we cannot do it alone. If other countries aren’t doing it, then us being the goody-two-shoes of the world is not actually encouraging anyone to improve.” She has also pledged to “maximize extraction” of oil and gas from the North Sea, a position that has drawn both domestic and international scrutiny.
The backlash was swift and fierce. Environmental groups condemned the proposal as “political suicide” and “an act of national self-harm.” Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, warned that the move would align the Conservatives with “climate denialists, conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists” and accused the party of turning its back on science for short-term political gain. Richard Benwell, head of the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition, stated, “The real route to lasting security is in homegrown clean power, not burning more fossil fuels. Without binding climate law, ministers will be free to trade away our future—and it is nature and the poorest communities that will pay the price.”
Business leaders joined the chorus of criticism, expressing alarm that repealing the Climate Change Act would undermine investment, lead to job losses, and exacerbate climate risks. According to BusinessGreen, industry groups warned that the UK’s reputation for climate leadership—which has helped attract tens of billions of pounds in clean energy investment—could be squandered for the sake of “short-term political expediency.”
Political opponents were equally vocal. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who played a key role in passing the original legislation as part of Gordon Brown’s Labour government, described Badenoch’s proposal as “desperate” and “an economic disaster.” In a statement reported by ITV News, Miliband said, “This desperate policy from Kemi Badenoch if ever implemented would be an economic disaster and a total betrayal of future generations. The Conservatives would now scrap a framework that businesses campaigned for in the first place and has ensured tens of billions of pounds of investment in homegrown British energy since it was passed by a Labour government with Conservative support 17 years ago.”
Former Conservative minister Lord Alok Sharma, who presided over the COP26 UN climate summit in 2021, urged Badenoch not to “squander this for the sake of short-term political expediency,” highlighting the UK’s legacy of global leadership on climate action.
The Liberal Democrats, too, weighed in, with energy security and net zero spokesperson Pippa Heylings asserting, “The reality is that investing in renewables is the greatest economic growth opportunity in this century and will protect the planet for future generations.” The party accused the Conservatives of abandoning a strategy that could reduce household energy bills and secure long-term prosperity.
The policy shift comes at a time when the cost of living and energy bills remain front and center for many British families. According to BBC, energy bills rose by 6% for a typical family earlier in 2025, and the UK’s electricity costs are among the highest in Europe. Labour has promised that its clean energy plan could cut household bills by up to £300 by 2030, but critics of net zero targets argue that the transition has already imposed significant costs on consumers and industry.
The debate over the Climate Change Act also reflects a wider fragmentation of the UK’s political consensus on climate action. When the law was passed in 2008, it sailed through Parliament with support from all major parties. Since then, however, the landscape has shifted. Reform UK, a rival party on the right, has also pledged to scrap net zero targets, blaming them for higher energy bills and the decline of British industry.
Meanwhile, scientists continue to warn of the dire consequences of backsliding on climate commitments. The world must rapidly cut emissions to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—a threshold beyond which the risks of extreme weather, sea level rise, and ecosystem collapse increase dramatically. The UK’s Climate Change Committee and international experts alike have stressed that binding targets and robust policy frameworks are essential to making meaningful progress.
As the Conservative Party heads into its annual conference, the fate of the Climate Change Act—and the UK’s broader approach to climate and energy policy—hangs in the balance. The coming weeks will reveal whether Badenoch’s bold gamble will rally voters concerned about the cost of living, or whether the backlash from environmentalists, business leaders, and political opponents will force a rethink.
For now, the UK stands at a crossroads, its reputation as a climate leader at stake and its energy future up for debate.
