Net zero policies must be set out for voters
IT is commonplace for the remnant of climate change deniers to claim that there is no point in the British government and people making strenuous efforts to achieve net zero.
This dodgy populist bandwagon relies on endlessly repeating that the UK accounts for just 1% of emissions. They taunt people concerned for climate about why they don’t protest in China etc. It is time to call their nonsense out for what it is.
Citizens of countries like the UK consume far more energy and goods than average. Consumption drives emissions. This puts the UK
in the dock. Per head we are not quite the worst, but we are not far off.
So why bother trying to change? The UK has previously been a force for good; for diplomacy, for security, for anti-corruption, and for rule of law. Until recently these were our strengths. We also led technical and social progress and change. The UK is still very good at sciences and British scientists have helped the world understand climate and what is going wrong with it.
No one should underestimate the significance of pioneering change. That is what has always enabled prosperity. 1% or 30% emissions is irrelevant. The point is whether change can be done. To have any chance in the world, our economy needs to get into the niche called the future. It’s no good trying to be best at doing the past. If we support the old carbon-intensive ways of doing things, we will simply drift further and further behind.
This is why Mr Sunak’s abandonment of a strong net zero policy is so tragic. His message is “relax; don’t bother investing in the future”. It will condemn the leftbehind to stay exactly that.
So enough of this spurious 1% argument. Candidates for election should tell us how they propose to repair the country, and how they will achieve net zero, because this is the secret to prosperity.
All else is either ignorance or misinformation.
Dr Andrew Blewett