Photo: Collected
The transition to a low-carbon economy is not only important for the future of the planet but is also good for politics, Britain’s climate minister Katie White has remarked.
She said the country’s record temperatures this summer have moved public opinion in favour of climate action more than at any time before.
White, a member of the ruling Labour government, said Britain’s right-wing parties have miscalculated by promising to scrap the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions if they come to power.
News agency AFP reported this from the United Nations.
In an interview with AFP at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, White, a minister of state at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, said, ‘There is widespread support among the British public for taking action on climate.’
She further said, ‘This summer we saw the most extreme weather. There were four heatwaves and deadly wildfires across the country. People now want more action.’
Under Conservative rule, Britain was the first major economy to make the target of achieving net zero by 2050 legally binding. However, under the party’s current leader Kemi Badenoch, they have moved away from this target. Their argument is that the target will harm the economy.
Nigel Farage’s Reform party has gone a step further, mocking the target as ‘net stupid zero’. Several members of the party are also flatly denying the scientific consensus on man-made climate change.
However, an Ipsos survey in August found that 74 per cent of people in Britain are worried about climate change. Sixty-nine per cent of people can recall being worried about it even before the summer of 2026.
