‘Just what is Tony up to?’ That was what one Labour MP asked, quizzically, when I bumped into them in Westminster this morning. Blair has made quite the splash with his latest political intervention, writing an introduction to a pamphlet that criticises net zero. The former prime minister warns that the debate on climate change had become ‘irrational’, with people in rich countries no longer willing to make financial sacrifices ‘when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal’. Attempts to phase out fossil fuels are – in the short term – ‘doomed to fail’.
Blair’s argument is that a backlash against climate change policies is threatening to ‘derail the whole agenda’
Blair refrained from criticising Labour ministers or individual policies – but it was clearly an unwelcome intervention for No. 10. Environment Secretary Steve Reed had the thankless task of responding to Blair’s comments this morning:
He’s making a valid and important contribution to a very significant debate that we’re having.
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