Climate Repeal of act would be a catastrophic error - May

Theresa May has condemned a promise made by Kemi Badenoch to repeal the Climate Change Act if the Conservatives win the next general election, calling the plans a “catastrophic mistake”.

- Fiona Harvey Helena Horton

The former prime minister joined other leading Tories, business groups, scientists and the Church of England in attacking the Conservative leader’s announcement, which would remove the requirement for governments to set carbon budgets laying out how far greenhouse gas emissions will be cut every five years up to 2050.

May called it a “retrograde” step that upended 17 years of consensus between Britain’s main political parties and the scientific community. She said: “To row back now would be a catastrophic mistake for, while that consensus is being tested, the science remains the same. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure we protect the planet for their futures and that means giving business the reassurance it needs to find the solutions for the very grave challenges we face.”