No 10 defends net-zero policies after Tony Blair brands them ‘irrational’

No 10 has defended the Government’s net-zero policies after Sir Tony Blair attacked any strategy that limits fossil fuels in the short term as “doomed to fail”.

The Labour former prime minister argued that the current climate approach “isn’t working”, with the debate having “become irrational” and people “turning away from the politics of the issue because they believe the proposed solutions are not founded on good policy”.

“In developed countries, voters feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal,” Sir Tony wrote in the foreword for a report from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI).

Any strategy based on either 'phasing out' fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail

But Downing Street insisted that Sir Keir Starmer’s Government’s approach has a minimal impact on people’s lives.

A No 10 spokesman told reporters: “We will reach net zero in a way that treads lightly on people’s lives, not by telling them how to live or behave.

“Clearly there’s going to be a range of views but we are of the view that this is an enormous economic opportunity and as the Prime Minister has made clear, we’re already seeing the benefit.”

The official highlighted the economic opportunities in the push towards renewables.

“Our position remains unchanged.

“This is about the net-zero sector growing three times faster than the economy as a whole,” the spokesman said.

“We’re seizing these opportunities to drive growth, lower bills and boost living standards.”

Addressing Sir Tony’s criticism of plans based on quickly curtailing fossil fuels, the official said: “We’ve always said that oil and gas have a role to play in the future of energy supply.”

In his intervention, Sir Tony wrote that global trends including the expected rise in fossil fuel use and the doubling of airline travel over the next 20 years undermine current climate policies.

“These are the inconvenient facts, which mean that any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,” he wrote.

He argued there should more focus on emerging technologies such as nuclear fusion,sustainable aviation fuel and carbon capture.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he agreed with “a lot” in the TBI think tank’s paper The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action On Climate Change.

Speaking in the Commons, he said: “There’s a lot in it that I do agree with.

“It says on CCS (carbon capture and storage), we should move ahead, which this Government is.

“On AI and the role of AI, this Government should move ahead, which we are.

“On nuclear, we should move ahead, which this Government is doing.”

We have been clear that the cost of net zero by 2050 to families will be far too high, and we must urgently change course

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “As the Prime Minister said last week, the clean energy mission is in the DNA of this Government, because it is the route to energy security, lower bills and good jobs for our country.

“We have already seen £43 billion of private investment announced into clean energy since July, with businesses backing our plan to deliver good jobs for working people, including 2,000 only last week in carbon capture and storage.

“We will continue to deliver our mission to make our country secure and drive economic growth for our Plan for Change.”

Acting shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said: “It seems even Tony Blair has come to the realisation that Keir Starmer and the Labour Party’s mad dash to net zero by 2050 is simply not feasible, or sustainable.

“As Ed Miliband’s net-zero zealotry pushes this country’s energy security even further into the arms of China, and their slave labour supply chains, and risks driving up energy bills further and further, only Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives are telling the truth about energy policy in this country.

“Under new leadership, we have been clear that the cost of net zero by 2050 to families will be far too high, and we must urgently change course.

“Will Labour now finally be prepared to do the same, and put the national interest above their own ideological dogma?”