LONDON — Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party has pledged to ditch the U.K.’s flagship climate law if they get back into government, in the latest signal that the party is firmly walking back on net zero commitments.

The Climate Change Act was ushered through parliament under Labour’s last term in power by then Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in 2008. It was backed by consecutive Conservative governments and was even tightened up by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019 to make the U.K. ‘s 2050 net zero target legally-binding. 

However, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has promised to scrap it, blaming the law for pushing up energy bills and creating bureaucratic delays.

“Climate change is real. But Labour’s laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions,” Badenoch said. 

The Tory leader has long been critical of climate targets. Earlier this year, she announced plans to ditch the U.K.’s legally-binding 2050 net zero target, as first reported by POLITICO, branding it “impossible.” 

The announcement comes amid a fracturing of political consensus on tackling climate change in the U.K., with Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK leading national polls and pledging to scrap net zero policies in their entirety.

The Climate Change Act set out a framework for cutting emissions through five-yearly “carbon budget” targets on the way to hitting net zero 2050. It also created the U.K. climate watchdog, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which oversees progress in hitting those goals. 

It’s unclear whether the CCC would also be scrapped under Conservative plans — but Shadow Energy Minister Andrew Bowie told POLITICO earlier this year that “everything’s on the table.” He also insisted the party is not “chasing” Reform UK voters. 

The Tories have pledged to replace the legislation with a policy which prioritises “cheap and reliable” power. The act is “forcing ministers to adopt policies which are making energy more expensive,” added Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho. 

The U.K. overachieved on its first three carbon budgets, while the rate of decarbonisation has more than doubled since the act’s introduction in 2008, according to the CCC. 

The Labour government — which has pledged to cut bills and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs through its clean energy policies — doubled down on its stance at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool this week.

Energy Secretary Ed 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.”