On October 2, 2025, the Conservative Party, under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch, ignited a political firestorm by pledging to scrap the United Kingdom’s landmark Climate Change Act 2008. The announcement, made on the eve of Badenoch’s first party conference as leader, has not only fractured the longstanding political consensus on climate policy but also triggered fierce backlash from within her own party, opposition politicians, and environmental groups.
The Climate Change Act, introduced by the Labour government in 2008 and later strengthened under Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, established legally binding targets for reducing carbon emissions. Originally, the Act committed the UK to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. In 2019, May’s government raised the bar, updating the target to net zero emissions by the same year—a move that made the UK a global trailblazer in climate legislation. The law also established the Climate Change Committee, an independent body to advise the government and monitor progress toward these targets.
Badenoch’s new direction, however, marks a dramatic departure. She argues that the Act’s “arbitrary climate targets” have 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.” According to Badenoch, “Labour's laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions.” She insists that while climate change is real, the current legislative framework is not the solution, declaring, “We want to leave a cleaner environment for our children, but not by bankrupting the country.”
The Conservative leader’s plan is to replace the Act with a strategy focused on “cheap and reliable” energy. She has also promised to “maximise” oil and gas extraction from the North Sea and described the net zero by 2050 target as “impossible” for the UK to meet. Badenoch’s stance echoes that of Reform UK, which has similarly pledged to scrap net zero targets if it wins the next election, blaming them for high energy bills and deindustrialization.
Unsurprisingly, the proposal has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who was instrumental in strengthening the Act, condemned the move as a “retrograde step which upends 17 years of consensus between our main political parties and the scientific community.” May warned, “To row back now would be a catastrophic mistake for while that consensus is being tested, the science remains the same. The harms are undeniable. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure we protect the planet for their futures and that means giving business the reassurance it needs to find the solutions for the very grave challenges we face.”
May’s criticism was echoed by other prominent Conservative figures. Lord Barwell, Badenoch’s former chief of staff in Downing Street, described the policy as “bad policy and bad politics,” warning that it risks alienating centrist voters without winning over those who support Reform UK. Lord Deben, a former environment minister under Margaret Thatcher, said the late prime minister “would have been appalled” by the shift, noting that she “moved the support to new industries” rather than clinging to the past. Lord Alok Sharma, who served as president of 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.
Labour’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, was unsparing in his criticism. He called Badenoch’s policy “an economic disaster and a total betrayal of future generations,” adding, “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.” Labour maintains that its own clean energy plan will reduce household energy bills by up to £300 by 2030, even though bills rose by 6% earlier this year. The party points to the UK’s high energy costs—fourth highest for domestic users and highest for industrial users in the EU—as evidence that reform is needed, but not at the expense of climate commitments.
Environmental groups have been equally vocal. Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition, warned, “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.” The Liberal Democrats’ energy spokesperson, Pippa Heylings, added, “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 Conservatives, meanwhile, argue that the Climate Change Act has led to “punitive measures that have hit family finances,” citing the so-called “boiler tax”—fines for manufacturers who fail to meet heat pump sales targets. This scheme, announced but delayed by the previous Conservative government, came into force under Labour in April 2025. Badenoch and her allies contend that such regulations stifle industry and innovation, contributing to the UK’s deindustrialization and loss of competitiveness.
Despite the heated rhetoric, the debate is not merely academic. The UK was the first nation to pass a legally binding long-term framework for reducing carbon emissions, inspiring similar legislation worldwide. Since the Act’s passage, the country has seen significant investment in renewable energy and a measurable reduction in emissions. Yet, as the political consensus on climate policy fractures, the future of these achievements hangs in the balance.
As the dust settles from Badenoch’s announcement, the Conservative Party finds itself at a crossroads—torn between a vision of economic growth driven by traditional energy sources and the legacy of environmental leadership that has defined its recent history. With a general election looming and public opinion divided, the fate of the UK’s climate policy remains uncertain. What is clear is that the conversation about how best to balance economic and environmental priorities is far from over—and the decisions made in the coming months will have consequences for generations to come.
As politicians, business leaders, and activists continue to clash over the best path forward, the stakes could hardly be higher. The world is watching to see whether the UK will maintain its role as a climate leader or chart a new, more contentious course.
