"Vast Majority" Of Tory MPs Support Net-Zero, Say Tory MPs - Just Ignore Brexiteers, Climate Liars
The “vast majority” of Conservative MPs support the government’s net zero climate plans despite increasingly vocal opposition from a small number of backbenchers, according to a Tory environment group.
On Tuesday the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG) of 19 Conservatives was accused of attempting to derail the government’s green agenda, linking it to the cost-of-living crisis and calling for cuts to green taxes and an increase in fossil fuel production.
But the Conservative Environment Network (CEN), which represents 123 MPs and 15 Tory peers, insisted the party’s rank and file remained committed to the government’s climate agenda. “The vast majority of Conservative MPs support net zero,” said Jack Richardson, from CEN. “They voted to enshrine the UK’s net zero by 2050 target in law and stood on a manifesto to deliver on that pledge.”
The NZSG has gained widespread media coverage in the past month, arguing the government’s plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050 have been dreamed up by out-of-touch elites and would impoverish working people, “making them colder and poorer”. Two leading members of the NZSG have links to an organisation often described as “climate-sceptic”. The group’s chair has also been accused by a leading climate institute of using misleading and inaccurate information. More than half of its members were involved in the European Research Group (ERG), which successfully pushed for the Brexit referendum inside the Tory party. This has led to fears of a similar “culture war” campaign around net zero and the end of the cross-party consensus on the need for climate action.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/09/most-conservative-mps-support-net-zero-says-tory-environment-network
