Tories pledge to scrap landmark climate legislation

The Conservatives have promised to strip the UK's historic climate change law and replace it with a scheme for cheap and reliable energy. The Climate Change Act 2008, which set carbon quotas for lowering emissions, was introduced by the previous Labour government and boosted under Tory Prime Minister Theresa May's leadership. Kemi Badenoch, Tory leader, said her party wanted to create a safer environment for our children, but

Labour's policies tied us to red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to reduce global emissions. Environmentalists said the step would be an act of

national self-harm,while Labour said it would bean economic disaster and a complete betrayal of future generations.

The 2008 bill, which was passed when current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was in the same role in Gordon Brown's cabinet, committed the UK to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050. This legally binding target was set to hit net zero by 2050 in 2019, under May's premiership, which means the UK must reduce carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces. The bill was passed through Parliament at that time with the support of all major parties. However, the political consensus on net zero has since dissipated. Badenoch has previously stated that net zero by 2050 is impossible for the UK to achieve and promised to maximise extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea. Reform in the United Kingdom has also stated that if it wins the next election, it will cut net zero targets, blaming the campaign for higher energy bills and deindustrialization in the UK.

The United Kingdom was the first country to establish a long-term legally binding framework to curb carbon pollution, and many other nations have introduced similar regulations since the act was passed. However, the Conservatives said the act compelled ministers

to make decisions to achieve arbitrary climate goals even though they hurt the British people, destroy jobs, and make our economy poorer.

We want to leave a healthier environment for our children but not by bankrupting the country,Badenoch said.Climate change is real. However, Labour's policies tied us to red tape, loaded us with unnecessary costs, and did not do anything to reduce global emissions. Previous Conservative governments attempted to make Labour's climate policies work, but they didn't succeed.

We will scrap those failed goals under my leadership. Our top priority right now is growth, cheaper electricity, and protecting the natural landscapes that we all love.

However, Miliband said,

This desperate plan from Kemi Badenoch, if ever adopted, would be a financial disaster and a complete disregard of future generations.

The Conservatives will now scrap a framework that businesses fought for in the first place and has pledged tens of billions of pounds of investment in homegrown British electricity since it was introduced by a Labour government with Conservative support 17 years ago. The Liberal Democrats had also condemned the decision.

The truth is that investing in renewables is the best economic growth opportunity in this century,

the party's energy security and net zero spokesperson Pippa Heylings said,

Investing in renewable energy provides the greatest economic growth prospects in this decade and will safeguard the planet for future generations.

The true path to lasting peace, according to Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link alliance of environmental organizations, is in homegrown clean energy, not burning more fossil fuels. Ministers will be free to trade away our future without a binding climate agreement, and the poorest groups will pay the bill.