'Prepare for the populist backlash, if Net Zero becomes an elite project'

As public discontent and concerns over the astronomical costs of Net Zero keep growing, green Tories are beginning to fret that they may soon be facing a disastrous political backlash.

In the Sunday Telegraph, the UK's former energy minister, Chris Skidmore, is unnerved by this likely prospect and warns that the Net Zero agenda will fail unless ministers are honest with the public 'about the scale of what lies ahead....' 

Mr Skidmore's alert about the geopolitical risks of going green is certainly timely, as is his warning about the growing risk of power shortages if the UK were to follow a renewables-only policy.

But when it comes to honesty and trust, Mr Skidmore would be well advised to refrain from claiming that the cost of offshore wind has come "crashing down." Empirical data shows that this is simply not the case.

As for the Climate Change Committee and the UK Government, how about coming clean and reveal the dodgy Net Zero cost estimates they are trying to hide?

After all, Mr Skidmore is right when he warns about the true risk Net Zero faces:

Trust means working with people to achieve shared ambitions and potential, not working to a centralised plan without widespread support that will be destined to fail."