Kemi Badenoch’s climate scepticism: a growing problem for the Conservative Party and its voters

Rather than casting doubt on the urgency of reaching net zero, the Conservative Party’s new leader should be prioritising scientific evidence, listening to the public and championing bold and decisive climate action, writes Pallavi Sethi.

Without urgent and ambitious climate action, by 2050 extreme heat could claim 10,000 lives a year in the UK, rising sea levels might force 200,000 English homes to be abandoned, and climate change could drain over £1 billion each year from the economy. Yet new leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, continues to express scepticism about policies to mitigate climate change.

In her address to the recent Conservative Party conference prior to being elected leader, Kemi Badenoch described herself as a “net zero sceptic”. This stance might not pose a direct threat to the UK’s climate policies while the Conservatives are in Opposition – but it could have significant implications for the future of the party. In a nation where the majority of the public are concerned about climate change, Mrs. Badenoch’s anti-climate rhetoric risks alienating voters and undermining the party’s broader appeal. 

Climate voting record

Kemi Badenoch’s voting record on climate demonstrates she has largely opposed the UK’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We looked at her voting history on climate-related issues in Parliament and found that her record indicates a general opposition to preventing climate change. Between 2020 and 2024, Mrs. Badenoch voted against measures that prevent climate change in 10 out of 13 instances (see interactive timeline).

For example, she voted againstmaking the primary mission of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency being to support reducing the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. ARIA is a government initiative that aims to drive scientific and technological advancements for public benefit.

Mrs. Badenoch also voted against measures that would require ministers to consider the 2050 net zero emissions target when implementing actions under the Agriculture Act, including setting up agricultural subsidy schemes.

Not only has Mrs. Badenoch opposed climate-friendly measures: she has also actively supported policies that exacerbate environmental harm. In October 2022, Mrs. Badenoch voted against banning fracking for shale gas. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracking, extracts natural gas from shale formations deep underground. In 2019, the UK government imposed a moratorium on fracking in England after the Oil and Gas Authority presented evidence highlighting the risks of seismic activity associated with the practice. Despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding these risks, Liz Truss as Prime Minister lifted the ban in 2022 following a parliamentary vote where 326 MPs, among them Kemi Badenoch, voted to do so. (Truss’s decision was a short time laterlater overturned by Rishi Sunak.)

Kemi Badenoch’s climate and environment voting record – timeline

Misinformation

Mrs. Badenoch’s voting history is not the only indication of her anti-climate stance. She has also made several misleading statements about net zero and has perpetuated misinformation that questions the urgency of climate action and discredits climate solutions, aligning with so-called ‘discourses of climate delay’.

Mrs. Badenoch has dismissed the net zero target as “arbitrary” and claimed it was “set up with no thought.” Similar claims have appeared in right-leaning newspapers such as the Daily Express, the Sun and the Sunday Telegraph but are entirely baseless. The UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target is not arbitrary. It was established based on the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent climate advisory body. In May 2019, the CCC published its report Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming, which concluded that the net zero target for 2050 fulfils the country’s obligation under the Paris Agreement. The report also highlighted that the target is achievable with current technologies and economically feasible within the limits previously set by Parliament.  

Mrs. Badenoch has repeatedly made misleading statements about the associated costs of achieving net zero. In an interview with the Sunday Times in October 2023, she claimed that the 2050 net zero target would “bankrupt” the UK. At the recent Conservative Party Conference, she further asserted that net zero is “making energy more expensive and hurting our economy”. And writing in the Sunday Telegraph in September 2024, Mrs. Badenoch argued that the 2050 net zero carbon deadline was approved in Parliament without a “thorough cost-benefit analysis”.

These statements paint a misleading picture of the economic implications of the UK’s net zero commitments. Contrary to Mrs. Badenoch’s claims, the net zero target is far from an economic threat. The Office for Budget Responsibility in its 2021 Fiscal risks report stated that the cost of climate inaction is “much larger” than the cost of transitioning to net zero. Additionally, according to the CCC, abandoning or delaying net zero policies will likely lead to higher energy bills and increased motoring costs for households. The CCC’s report on net zero provides a comprehensive cost–benefit analysis of achieving this target by 2050 and demonstrates that it is both economically viable and essential for long-term stability.

Countering public opinion on net zero and the environment

Polling in recent years from organisations such as UK Onward, the Conservative Environment Network, and Centre for Towns has repeatedly highlighted strong public support for climate action across both left- and right-leaning voters. When former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed key net zero policies in 2023, he drew widespread criticism from the public as well as scientific experts. Kemi Badenoch’s current opposition to net zero policies is increasingly disconnected from the public sentiment and in some ways echoes Mr. Sunak’s previous missteps.

According to the latest survey by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which monitors public awareness and attitudes towards climate policies, a significant 80 per cent of respondents expressed concern about climate change. The data, from summer 2024, also shows people generally understand the long-term benefits of the net zero target. While 37 per cent view the short term (one-to-two-year) impact of net zero on the UK economy negatively, this perspective shifts when considering the long-term impact. A majority – 54 per cent – of respondents anticipate positive economic outcomes associated with net zero over the long run (10 years or more). These findings underscore that unlike Mrs. Badenoch, people recognise net zero as a path to both climate resilience and economic stability in the future.

Kemi Badenoch also appears disconnected from the public’s concern regarding environmental issues. In 2021, Mrs. Badenoch was among 265 MPs who voted against a proposed amendment to the Environment Bill that sought to impose a legal duty on water companies to improve sewerage systems and reduce the harm caused by untreated sewage discharges. The public concern over pollution from sewage overflows in 2023 did not work in favour of the Conservative Party. Liberal Democratic leader, Ed Davey, drew strong attention to this problem during the general election campaign and polling suggested this was a salient issue with many voters to the extent of likely influencing some votersvoter behaviour in the 2024 local and general elections. For the first time, the Liberal Democrats won West Dorset, a constituency plagued by nearly 4,000 recorded sewage overflows in 2023.

Kemi Badenoch’s position against net zero policies and voting record on environmental issues such as sewage management stand in stark contrast to the growing public demand for urgent climate action and environmental protection.

The Conservative climate clash

Kemi Badenoch’s scepticism towards climate action could worsen the current division over environmental policies in the Conservative Party. There are two competing factions within the party: the Conservative Environment Network’s (CEN) caucus, which was formed in 2013 to promote environmental action, and the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG), founded in 2021, which opposes the Government’s net zero policies.

In 2022, 133 MPs joined the CEN. During the same time, the NZSG saw a growing influence as it expanded its membership to 58. The NZSG has come under criticism for its ties to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), a prominent UK climate denial group. In 2022, Steve Baker, a member of the NZSG, shared a report from the GWPF that denied the existence of climate change.

Kemi Badenoch’s sceptical stance on net zero further exacerbates these tensions. As the Conservative Party’s leader, her current views risk legitimising the NZSG’s position and emboldening climate sceptic voices within the party. Ignoring the growing scientific evidence on climate change and the public’s clear demand for action would be a huge mistake for the party. So, the question Kemi Badenoch needs to answer is not whether the UK can afford to act on climate change, it is whether the Conservative Party can afford not to.