Met Office report does not justify futile Net Zero policies

In response to the Met Office’s latest State of the UK Climate report, Net Zero Watch has issued the following statement, warning against Ed Miliband’s attempts to politicise the data and justify deeper and more costly domestic Net Zero policies.

Even if you accept the contents of the Met Office’s latest climate report, the energy policies we have put in place as a result make no sense. They are:

  • Futile in global terms – the UK is only 1% of global emissions, which continue to rise

  • Economically destructive at home – domestic power prices prices are already at 25p/kWh and rising, with forecasts suggesting they could exceed 40p by 2030. 

The costs of our Net Zero policies far outweigh any measurable benefits. The Office for Budget Responsibility recently warned of a growing fiscal crisis - with rising debt, weak growth, and long-term structural risks. Our high energy prices are a significant contributory factor, yet ministers intend to pile tens of billions more in costs onto households and industry over the next few years. Crucially, this will have no measurable impact on global temperatures.

We are facing a triple crisis in the UK’s electricity sector: soaring prices, growing grid instability, and a dangerous shortage of firm capacity, as aged gas-fired power stations are retired over the next five years. The lead time for new ones may now be as long as eight years. Blackouts and brownouts – the result of our panic-driven energy policies – are now a realistic possibility.

Net Zero Watch director Andrew Montford said:

The UK needs a new strategy based on resilience, reliability, and realism.

Resilience means preparing for the impacts we can’t avoid – with serious investment in flood defences and infrastructure. Reliability means building an energy system that works in all conditions – not one that fails when the wind doesn’t blow. And realism means accepting that Britain cannot fix global emissions through domestic sacrifice alone.

We need urgent action to address the triple crisis in our electricity system. If we want to protect households, industry, and our long-term energy security, we must act now.

ENDS 

NZW team

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