The real cost of net zero is less than you think

I recently attended the launch of a new book called ‘The Climate Diplomat’ by Pete Betts, a senior civil servant, about the struggle to avert our climate crisis. We heard speeches from Ed Davey, John Gummer and Ed Miliband, who all served alongside Pete as Ministers. 

This book has a special significance for me because Pete Betts, its author, was an old friend of mine. Sadly, this publication is posthumous because he died of brain cancer last year. But over the years, I talked to Pete about his work, and he is one of the reasons I entered politics. 

Pete served as a key member of the UK climate change negotiating team in a succession of governments. This culminated in the famous 2015 Paris agreement, which set binding targets for emissions reduction. At a time when some parties, notably Reform and the Conservatives, are pushing back on taking any climate action at all, Pete’s message is doubly important.

Getting agreement from almost 200 countries worldwide is incredibly difficult. Oil producing countries want to keep pumping oil. Developing countries want to catch up with the West. And poorer countries fear they could disappear altogether under the waves.

In the UK, we worry most about the bill. But the cost is nowhere near as high as people think. Recent polling suggests the public thinks achieving net zero will cost more than a quarter of the UK‘s entire GDP per year. Yet the real figure is just 0.2%. 

Reform voters are the most likely to overestimate the price, probably because that’s what Reform politicians tell them. Indeed, Nigel Farage says he can fund his entire economic strategy by cancelling net zero. But half the net zero money will come from the private sector, invested on a purely commercial basis. Cancelling this saves the government nothing.

The UK net zero target assumes petrol cars will be entirely replaced by electric vehicles, and that would cost the Exchequer £20 billion a year in lost fuel duty. But that’s not a burden on working people - it’s like a tax rebate! 

The Liberal Democrats remain fully committed to achieving net zero and building on the UK’s leadership role in international climate negotiations. Pete Betts helped put us there at a time when some want to walk away from climate action. Let’s not throw it all away.