As world leaders prepare to gather in Brazil for COP30, the case for climate action is under increasing political strain. President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement for a second time and opportunistic anti-net zero movements are on the rise.
In Britain, the Conservatives and Reform UK are treating climate action as the next trench line in its culture war. They have taken aim at energy companies seeking to invest in domestic renewables, pledged to reintroduce fracking, and are scrapping local environmental schemes in newly-won councils.
These attacks are not just about climate policy—they are part of the broader populist assault on evidence, expertise and long-term thinking. In the face of this, liberals must learn the lessons of the past.
For too long, those who understand the importance of climate action and internationalism have dismissed the rantings of climate sceptics without taking them on. We must be louder, bolder and more confident in calling out the lies.
But to take on the right’s war on renewables, we cannot ignore the grievances that populists feed off. To do so would lead to an even greater public and political backlash.
Across the country, families are facing a cost of living crisis driven by high energy bills that are still more than £50 a month higher than they were five years ago. That means struggling families must find extra money just to keep the lights and their homes warm this winter.
The truth is that homegrown renewable energy is now the cheapest, most secure form of power but too often the cost of electricity is being set by the price of gas. That’s why, in July this year, Liberal Democrats set out plans to break the link between gas prices and the cost of electricity.
Cancelling wind and solar projects, as the Conservatives and Reform UK would have us do, won’t make bills cheaper. Instead, it will lock us into expensive and volatile fossil fuels. By opposing Britain’s shift away from fossil fuels, the Conservatives and Reform UK are effectively keeping us dependent on gas supplies that fund autocrats who threaten our country’s security.
Clean energy investment is not just about cutting emissions. It’s about creating jobs, building industries and securing growth
We must make the case for climate action, not simply because the science is on our side, but because we are defending one of the great achievements of recent decades: the progress we have already made.
The UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 was one of the first comprehensive climate laws in the world, passed with near-universal cross-party support. Since then, 66 countries have implemented climate governance frameworks of their own, and 145 have now made some form of net zero commitment. The act strengthened Britain’s standing as an international climate leader, inspired others to follow and helped us play a key role in shaping the Paris agreement.
The legislation has since been strengthened as the UK became the first major economy to commit to legally binding net zero emissions by 2050.
This date is not plucked from thin air. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made clear: to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, the world as a whole must reach net zero around 2050.
And the benefits of doing so are immense. Net zero is the world’s greatest economic opportunity. The UK’s green economy is growing three times faster than the economy as a whole. Clean energy investment is not just about cutting emissions; it is about creating jobs, building industries and securing growth.
In defending the UK’s record on climate action, and making the case for future progress, we cannot let the populist right rewrite the facts. Liberals must take this fight to the public with urgency and confidence. The stakes are too high for silence.
