Net Zero: bin it or back it?

Join us for another instalment in our Spectator debate series.

For nearly two decades, net zero has sat at the heart of Britain’s policy agenda. Once framed as a clear moral imperative, it saw political parties promising to slash carbon emissions and ministers racing to position the UK as a leader on the international stage. But as economic pressures and global instability mount, that consensus is beginning to fray.

Recent shocks – from the pandemic to war-driven energy crises – have exposed the fragility of supply chains and the risks of overreliance on external energy sources. While renewables like wind and solar can supplement carbon fuels, they also raise questions around cost, subsidy and reliability. At the same time, drilling for oil in the North Sea is penalised. So where does this leave Britain? As a relatively small contributor to global emissions, is the UK leading the way in adopting net zero – or putting its own economic resilience at risk?

Join The Spectator on 20 May for a timely debate, which will see Richard Tice MP and energy expert Kathryn Porter go up against Bob Ward, of the influential Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and Shahrar Ali, former deputy leader of the Green party. The Spectator’s assistant editor, Isabel Hardman, will chair.