Ouch! Tony Blair had only recently left office when Ed Miliband, a protégé of Gordon Brown, drove the Climate Change Act through the Commons, committing the UK government to cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent, compared with 1990 levels, by 2050. That target was upgraded to a net zero target – with minimal debate and no Commons vote – during Theresa May’s final days in office in 2019. Miliband, back in his old job after a 14-year hiatus, has stuck doggedly to the target.
This is starting to look like the beginning of the end for Britain’s self-sacrificial net zero target
But now Blair says that policy – yes, Labour government policy – is ‘irrational’. A lot of current political leaders, he says, would like to say the same but are scared of being labelled ‘deniers’.
The most remarkable thing about Blair’s attack on Miliband’s policy – contained in the foreword to a paper published by Tony Blair’s institute – is that the former PM hasn’t really changed his view.
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