In March, tackling climate change was added to the bonfire of Tory failures. And just like Brexit, migration and the economy, this is no trivial matter.
They were forced to publish their Powering Up Britain strategy after a High Court ruling that their previous plans for reaching net zero by 2050 were the policy equivalent of a scribble on the back of a fag packet. But they once again failed to demonstrate that they had a sufficient grasp on the key issues of renewable energy and de-carbonisation. Meanwhile, a report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC*) sub-committee on adaptation has indicated that the government has failed to meet any of their targets on adaptation.
Indeed, the CCC claimed that the Tories were not taking the matter seriously enough to prevent avoidable loss of life.
Barring a few cranks and NIMBYS, the need to adequately address the climate crisis and to invest in adaptation strategies has become something that, in recent years at least, unites most people across the political spectrum. Most sensible people can also see the potential benefits that renewables offer for reducing the cost of energy and our dependence on foreign powers as providers.
The need to provide a clear roadmap for change is obvious to most of us. The need to do so quickly, not least to harness the opportunity of private investment but ultimately to reduce the impacts of climate catastrophe, is equally obvious. And I’ve yet to meet a right-minded Tory who would disagree.
The real issue here is not that there is no consensus on climate change, it is that we have a Tory government that is showing time and time again that it lacks the capability and competence to deliver for the people of this country.
And the longer it remains in power, the more damage it will do.
Pat Osborne, North Dorset Labour Party
*an independent group of experts set up to provide the government with advice on the climate crisis.
