Repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and Net Zero targets

We consider that Parliament must revoke The Climate Change Act 2008 and related Net Zero targets as since 2008 when the The Climate Change Act became law many hundreds of scientists up to the highest Nobel Laureate level have jointly declared "There is no climate emergency".

We believe the Climate Change Act 2008 and related Net Zero targets are both now in effect based on just one side of a two-sided scientific debate as we do not consider there to be a scientific consensus on the hypothesis of human emissions causing climate change. We consider that one side only of a two-sided scientific debate is not an acceptable basis for significant legislation that could have major impacts of the UK's economy and citizens. We want the issue of Climate Change to be reconsidered from scratch based on views and evidence from all sides.

The Government’s policy to support ambitious action on climate change reflects the mainstream scientific consensus and thousands of studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. The IPCC is the authoritative source of information on climate science. The IPCC has established that human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2000 years. This warming of the climate is attributed to the build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion, cement manufacture and deforestation. The evidence for this is set out in chapters 2 and 3 of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Working Group 1 report. The IPCC Sixth Assessment reports can all be accessed here (https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/).

As discussed in chapter 4 of the above report, if the CO2 concentration continues to rise unchecked the world could face a global surface temperature rise of about 3°C or more above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. The serious consequences of this for human societies and ecosystems are set out in the IPCC Working Group report on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation.

The Prime Minister has reiterated that net zero is a priority for this Government. The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions – having cut them by around 53% between 1990 and 2023, while also growing its economy by around 80%. More than ever, we are determined to adopt a fair and pragmatic approach to net zero that minimises the burdens on working people. The measures announced by the Prime Minister on 20th September 2023 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-on-net-zero-20-september-2023) will help avoid imposing significant costs on families.