12 June 2024 – The Conservative Manifesto 2024 has dropped yesterday and promises a clear plan, bold action and a secure future. But does it deliver on climate change?
2023 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. We also just had the hottest May on record, which is the 12th month in a row with record temperatures.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent globally, with flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and storms all getting worse. And scientists have warned that unless we take drastic action to stop global warming, these extreme weather events will become the norm.
So it’s vital that world leaders take bold action to stop the climate crisis. But is that what the Conservative Manifesto is promising?
Commitment To Net Zero By 2050 Stands
It’s no surprise that the government is still committed to achieve net zero by 2050, after all it’s a legal requirement. Former Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has passed a law that makes achieving net zero by 2050 legally binding.
And while the manifesto document promises that the Conservatives will treble the UK’s offshore wind capacity, they also stick to their pledge to max-out oil and gas in the North Sea.
The windfall tax on oil and gas is to remain in place until 2028-29, unless prices return to normal levels sooner.
Rishi Sunak also announced that his government, should he be re-elected, will build the first two carbon capture and storage clusters. Two new fleets of Small Modular Reactors will also be approved, increasing nuclear power in the UK.
The manifesto also pledges a £1.1bn investment in the Green Industries Accelerator, to ensure the UK’s energy transition is made in Britain. The Conservatives also aim at transforming the UK into a net exporter of electricity, by building a new gigawatt power plant in North Wales.
Pragmatic Approach To Net Zero
The Conservative Manifesto 2024 also promises a pragmatic approach to achieving net zero that will prevent households from being burdened with higher bills. This approach has already been announced last year, when the PM delayed important climate change targets.
The manifesto document promises that the government will never force households to get rid of their boiler and replace it with a heat pump. He also guarantees that Parliament will get a vote on how the UK will proceed regarding climate action.
The PM also pledged to lower green levies on households to ensure they will be lower than in 2023. He also ruled out the creation of any further green levies, road pricing schemes or a frequent flyer levy.
A pledge to invest £6bn in energy efficiency over the next three years to help households to make their homes warmer, is also in the manifesto. As well as funding for an energy efficiency voucher scheme to which every household in England can apply.
This new scheme is aimed at helping families to install energy efficiency measures and solar panels. Local communities will get a bigger say in the development of onshore wind projects. And communities who agree to host such projects will get direct benefit, potentially through discounted energy.
The moratorium on fracking will stay in place, which means fracking won’t happen in the UK.
Our Verdict On The Conservative Manifesto 2024
The manifesto document is over 70 pages long, with only two pages dedicated to environmental measures, and it’s towards the back of the paper. So you can’t really say that climate change is on top of the Conservative’s agenda.
The manifesto promises a clear plan, bold action and a secure future. Well, when it comes to climate, it doesn’t deliver any of these. Apart from committing to the legally binding target of net zero by 2050, there is no clear plan how the UK will achieve this.
Scientists have been clear that we have to stop extracting fossil fuels if we want to avert a climate crisis, so approving new oil and gas fields isn’t the right thing to do. Why not focus solely on renewable energy?
The focus on carbon capture and storage is also peculiar, given that experts have said that the technology just isn’t good enough yet to make a big difference. There was absolute silence in the manifesto as to actual targets, like the ones that the PM has pushed back last year.
There aren’t any new ideas, let alone any bold actions that would help the UK to achieve the 2050 target. Most of the measures aren’t new, like financial help to install energy efficiency measures.
The focus on telling people the government won’t burden households with additional costs is misleading. Experts have said that the delayed climate targets on gas and oil boilers and electric cars actually cost Brits more in the long term.
In terms of a secure future, well with a climate crisis looming and no clear plan or bold action to avert it, I can’t see where the secure future will come in. Climate change costs livelihoods, money and lives. That’s very far from a secure future.
