Conservatives announce plans to put economic growth and cheap energy first by replacing the Climate Change Act

Today [Thursday 2^nd October 2025], as revealed by The Spectator, the Conservatives are announcing their plans to prioritise cheap energy and economic growth and halt the deindustrialisation of Britain by replacing the Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA). 

The CCA, passed by Ed Miliband under the last Labour government, has forced Governments to introduce burdensome rules and regulations that have increased energy bills for families and businesses, eaten away at Britain's manufacturing sector, and contributed to a worsening in economic growth.  

The Conservative Party, under Kemi Badenoch's leadership, is focused on making sure our economy and our businesses are given the right regulatory framework to thrive and ensuring that elected politicians can make the right decisions for Britain's economy and prosperity. This includes freeing the country from the economically harmful regulations that are holding it back, while ensuring we protect our natural environment.  

That is why the next Conservative government will replace the CCA with an energy strategy that puts cheap and reliable energy as the foundation for economic growth first, and an approach to climate and environmental protection that prioritises enhancing and preserving our natural environment. 

By replacing the CCA, Ministers will be freed from legally binding targets that force them to make decisions to meet arbitrary climate targets, even if they make the British people poorer, destroy jobs, and make our economy weaker.  

A future Conservative government will be able to balance the interest of the economy and our natural environment, without the constant threat of Judicial Review and eco-lawfare that has cost the taxpayer millions over the past decade, and driven up the cost and timeline of multiple government projects. 

The 2008 legislation has forced successive governments to introduce punitive measures that have hit family finances – including the Boiler Tax which will push up the price of gas boilers to force people to adopt heat pumps just for the purpose of meeting a self-imposed target.  

The Act ignores the fact that climate change is a global problem. If the British chemicals, cement, or metals industry shuts down and moves abroad to countries with cheaper but dirtier energy, then Britain won't need any less chemicals, cement, or metals – we will just import more from abroad instead, and lose out on all the jobs, tax revenue, and economic growth. Britain will be poorer and global emissions will increase. 

The CCA has also forced Ministers to support Drax, where trees are cut down in North America, shipped across the Atlantic in diesel-chugging ships, and burnt in a power station in Yorkshire, at great cost to billpayers and our environment, because it is labelled ‘clean' for the purposes of our climate targets. 

The UK has already halved its emissions since 1990, reducing emissions by more than any other major economy. But global emissions are rising and countries like China are not following our lead. Continuing down this path of unilateral economic disarmament will make us a warning, not an example, to the rest of the world.  

The Conservatives support action on climate change – and believe in safeguarding our environment for future generations – but this has to happen when it makes people's lives better. People should be able to adopt electric vehicles and electric heating when they want to and when it will save them money, not when they are forced to by a government mandate. 

Cheap energy for families and businesses has to be our priority, but Ed Miliband is delivering the opposite, with his upcoming wind auction (Allocation Round 7) locking us into much higher electricity prices for longer, solely for the purpose of meeting climate targets. This latest announcement demonstrates the Conservatives and Kemi Badenoch's commitment to making economic growth our central imperative – unleashing British businesses from crushing bureaucracy. 

It follows Kemi's announcement that she would scrap Net Zero by 2050 and end all Net Zero mandates on North Sea Oil & Gas – instead replacing the North Sea Authority's mandate with a singular focus to maximise extraction. 

Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, said: 

“We want to leave a cleaner environment for our children, but not by bankrupting the country. 

“Climate change is real. But Labour's laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions. Previous Conservative governments tried to make Labour's climate laws work - they don't. 

“Under my leadership we will scrap those failed targets. Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love” 

Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Energy Secretary, said: 

 “The Climate Change Act is not working. It's forcing Ministers to adopt policies which are making energy more expensive. That is deindustrialising Britain, causing hardship for families, and perversely it makes it harder for people to adopt electric products that can reduce emissions.  

“Despite our efforts, emissions around the world are rising. When things aren't working, we should say so.  

“Our priority will be to make energy cheap, double down on innovation and protect nature.” 

ENDS

Notes to Editors 

The Climate Change Act imposed arbitrary environmental targets:  

• The Climate Change Act (2008) sets a legally binding framework for the UK to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The Act established the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) to provide advice and monitor progress. It also introduced a system of five-year carbon budgets, which place a legally binding cap on the total amount of emissions permitted during that period. Additionally, the Act requires the government to assess climate change risks and develop a national adaptation programme (Climate Change Act, accessed 30 September 2025, link).

• The Climate Change Committee said that people will have to eat less meat to hit net zero by 2050. The Climate Change Committee said: ‘20,700 hectares of new trees were planted in 2023/24, an increase of 59 per cent compared to the year before. While there was a large rise in England, most of the increase occurred in Scotland. However, we have concerns that recent reductions in funding for woodland creation in Scotland could reverse this trend. Peatland restoration rates also increased by 47 per cent in 2023/24. Reductions in the average consumption of meat and in livestock numbers are continuing. These are key to freeing up land required to increase tree planting and peatland restoration' (Climate Change Committee, 2025 report to Parliament, June 2025, link).

• The Climate Change Committee has advocated for the government to reduce the number of flights taken by individuals to reduce emissions. The Climate Change Committee said: ‘5 Develop and implement policy – such as the existing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate and the UK ETS – that ensures the aviation sector takes responsibility for mitigating its emissions and ultimately achieving Net Zero for the sector by 2050. This includes paying for permanent engineered removals to balance out all remaining emissions. Ensure robust contingencies are in place to address any delays in decarbonisation, including through demand management' (Climate Change Committee, 2025 report to Parliament, June 2025, link).

• The Climate Change Committee has advocated for new homes to not be connected to the gas grid. The Climate Change Committee said: ‘Implement regulations to ensure that new homes are not connected to the gas grid. Currently, 71 per cent of new homes include fossil fuel boilers, which creates additional emissions, bakes in costs for the future owners of these homes for retrofitting with low-carbon heating, and means poorer air quality for the families who move in. With high ambition on building new homes, it is essential for the Government to ensure that these are built in a manner that is fit for the future' (Climate Change Committee, 2025 report to Parliament, June 2025, link).

Energy bills are so high because of Net Zero: 

• Britain's domestic energy prices are the second highest in the world. Official figures published by the International Energy Agency show Britain's domestic energy prices are the second highest in the world – behind only Germany – at 30.45p per kWh. In France, the equivalent price was 23.7p, while in the US it was 12.9p (The Telegraph, 30 September 2025, link).

• Almost half of the cost of producing electricity in Britain is paying Net Zero taxes and levies. Research by the Renewable Energy Foundation found the 40 per cent of the cost of producing electricity in Britain, equivalent to £22 billion a year, is paying Net Zero taxes and levies, including Contracts for Difference, the Emission Trading Scheme and the Renewable Obligation (Ember, European electricity prices and costs, accessed 26 September 2025, link; Climate Change Committee, Energy Prices and Bills: Annex, March 2017, link; DESNZ, Form, 19 September 2025, link). 

High energy bills are pushing families into poverty and making British industry uncompetitive: 

• 12.1 million households in Britain struggle paying their energy bills. Research by the University of York found that 12.1 million households in England struggle to pay their energy bills, with 43 per cent spending more than 10 per cent of their household income on energy bills. Almost 5 million households spend more than 20 per cent of their income on energy bills (End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 26 August 2025, link). 

• Britain's industrial electricity prices are 46 per cent higher than average in the G7 and EU. On price per kWh, Britain's electricity prices are the most expensive in the G7 and EU and 46 per cent higher than the media. Industrial electricity prices are four times as expensive as the US and 50 per cent more expensive then France and Germany (Renewable Energy Foundation, Blog, accessed 26 September 2025, link). 

Labour are making energy more expensive: 

• The energy price cap will have increased by £187 since Labour came to power, despite their promise to cut bills by £300. The energy price cap for July to September 2024 was £1,568 compared to £1,755 for October to December 2025, a £187 increase (Ofgem, Energy Price Cap, accessed 7 August 2025, link).

• Labour are tying Britain up to more expensive renewables for longer, meaning bills will become more expensive. Ed Miliband has extended increased the maximum Strike Price on offer for offshore wind in his latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction, and extended the subsidy contracts from 15 years to 20 years, meaning that British consumers will be paying more on their bills for even longer to pay for impossible Net Zero objectives and Miliband's desperation (DESNZ, Consultation outcome, 15 July 2025, link).

The Conservatives will repeal the Climate Change Act: 

• The Conservatives will repeal the Climate Change Act 2008. The Climate Change Act established legally binding, five yearly carbon reduction targets. Repealing the Act is essential to scrapping Net Zero taxes and levies (Climate Change Act, accessed 26 September 2025, link). 

The Conservatives have a plan to unlock North Sea oil and gas: 

• Replacing the North Sea Transition Authorities (NSTA) mandate to ‘maximise the extraction of our oil and gas'. The NSTA requires oil and gas companies to fulfil a range of net zero obligations such as connecting oil rigs to the grid and reducing flaring, venting, and emissions. We will change this to one sole mandate of maximising oil and gas extraction and rename the NSTA to the North Sea Authority (The Daily Telegraph, 30 August 2025, link). 

• End the ban on new oil and gas licences to unlock billions of barrels of oil and gas. Labour's ban on new oil and gas licences called time on Britain's oil and gas industry leaving billions of barrels in the ground and risking 200,000 jobs. We will extract this oil and gas, creating £165 billion in economic value (OEUK, Key facts, accessed 31 August 2025, link; OEUK, Press Release, 23 June 2025, link). 

• Reverse the ban on government support for the export of oil and gas technology. UK Export Finance (UKEF) supported on average £5 billion of oil and gas technology exports annually before government support for it was banned. We will reverse this ban to create jobs and unlock billions of exports (PMO, Press Release, 12 December 2020, link; UKEF, Guidance, 17 August 2021, link).