The Green Transition: Tory Party Conference special
Weekly analysis of the shift towards a new economy.
Dear Readers,
Happy Friday! Jonny Ball here – associate editor of Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy section. As ever, our coverage is at newstatesman.com/spotlight
Today’s GT is brought to you with a dispatch from the Conservative conference in sunny Manchester, where you could be forgiven for thinking that the alarming news that 2023 is set to be the hottest year on record was just plain wrong (it’s not).
The excellent Zoe Grünewald has the low-down on what was up at the annual gathering of Tory members, MPs, hacks, and lobbyists, and what it all means for the race to net zero. Let’s just say not everyone is on the same page.
Next week, this newsletter will be brought to you from down the M62 in Liverpool – where the Labour Party will be hosting a similarly civilised get together, in which they will attempt to look like a “Government In Waiting™” (see here for the New Statesman’s bulging fringe events schedule).
Have a great weekend!
Fear and loathing (of net zero) at the Tory Party Conference
Two weeks ago, Rishi Sunak announced a weakening of key long-standing net zero policies, including pushing back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
The Prime Minister told the public he was prepared to right wrongs made by politicians “motivated by short-term thinking, telling people the bits they want to hear, and not necessarily always the bits they need to hear.”
This was a distinct change in tone, to say the least, given that these kinds of climate commitments had formerly enjoyed cross-party support.
Sunak set out how the government wouldn’t force the public to take on certain behavioural changes, ruling out (non-existent) meat-taxes, saying no to enforced carpooling (currently in place, er, nowhere), and clamping down on cumbersome recycling systems (okay, this does hold some water).
For some, this was a welcome shift away from nanny-statism. But to others it looked like an embarrassing climb-down. Industries that had been planning investments around previous net zero targets were apoplectic. Former Siemens CEO Jürgen Maier said that “it beggars belief... I'm honestly angry. Everybody is now sitting and wobbling and wondering. And I tell you what, they won't be investing in the UK”.
Only a week later, at the Conservative Party Conference, you’d be forgiven for wondering if Sunak represented a different party altogether. Walking into the exhibition hall, what was immediately obvious was how many energy and environmental exhibitors were there, their stalls set up to proudly tout their role in the green transition. Flicking through the lengthy conference agenda, almost every page contained details of a fringe event sympathetic to net zero.
The move to a green economy is big business. Glossy pamphlets and showreels from the private sector showcased long-term climate investment strategies, begging the government for well-defined leadership and long-term partnerships with predictable incentives. Companies see the renewables, EVs, battery, R&D and chip-making boom sparked by the US Inflation Reduction Act and swoon. British industry wants in on the action.
Still, throughout the conference, doubts about the transition came thick and fast from high-profile Conservatives. In her maiden conference speech, the Environment Secretary, Claire Coutinho, leaned into the anti-nanny state rhetoric, attacking “net zero zealots” and accusing Labour of wanting to implement meat taxes. Her statements attacking the “war on motorists” and the “elite” imposition of net zero targets won loud applause from the conference floor.
At the Spectator’s net zero fringe event, former Energy Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, pushed for technology first and regulation second, expressing indignation at the idea of the government intervening in individuals’ lives. “Nanny is marvellous,” he told a gin-and-tonic-sipping audience, “but she's there to look after my six children, not tell the British public what to do”. Cue guffaws.
But there were some significant interventions from key party members in favour of the green transition. At former PM Theresa May’s Conservative Environment Network (CEN) reception there was a long queue out of the door. “To be a conservative is to conserve”, she told the crowd. “Net zero isn't a cost to be minimised, it shouldn't be seen as that. It is the growth opportunity of the century”. Former energy secretary Chris Skidmore also came out fighting, emphasising the impact that rollbacks could have on business. He told a fringe event: “It’s undeniable that investors who are making decisions at this moment … are all looking for that long-term certainty.”
There’s real disconnect between the approach from industry and the populist lurch of some Conservative politicians. A representative of the innovation agency, Nesta, gently chastised Katherine Fletcher MP in a CEN panel, telling her it was not helpful for the government to “list policies that, as far as I’m aware, were not on the table” (see: meat taxes). The chief strategy and regulation officer of Cadent Gas proudly set out the company’s role in the move to net zero, ignoring the incredulous look on Rees-Mogg’s face. Industry leaders speaking to the Green Transition rolled their eyes at the government’s rhetoric and assured me that important targets are still being adhered to.
“It’s mostly just chatter. But it is frustrating when we’ve all been working so hard for so long”, one told me over a warm glass of red wine. “It’s good to be here though”. I’m not sure who they were trying to convince: me, or themselves.
Read more from Zoe, or follow her on X
In brief
Nature of the beast: Megan reports on the new framework for the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), which was launched at the New York Stock Exchange on 18 September. It includes measures on how financial institutions can set up proper metrics for measuring dependencies and impact on nature.
Missed chances to green advances: The Institute for Public Policy Research has this report on the case for a green industrial strategy. They say, managed properly, the green transition could create 1.6 million jobs and add between £37bn and £57bn to GDP.
Union Joe on the Bidemonic track: The Economist has an interesting take on the contradictions in Bidenomics, after the US President joined a picket line of the striking United Auto Workers union (the first sitting president in history to do so). Basically, the transition to EVs would be quicker and cheaper if he lowered some of the tariff barriers that play a key role in his pro-American labour, “modern supply-side”, domestic economic agenda.
Holy See levels are rising: If you aren’t convinced by the net zero agenda then don’t take our world for it, listen to Pope Francis, who this week gave a “papal exhortation” for the rich world to do better on climate change. Well that’s you told.
See you next week.
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The Green Transition is produced by Spotlight, the New Statesman's online policy section and print supplement. Spotlight reports on policy for the people who shape it and the business leaders it affects. Explore our in-depth reporting and analysis here.
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Please send any news or comments to: jonathan.Ball@newstatesman.co.uk