Replacing Climate Change Act is political vandalism that would abandon future generations

The Climate Change Act, which the Conservative Party campaigned for alongside Friends of the Earth, has served as an integral signpost for business since it was passed in 2008, setting the direction of travel to prepare companies for a climate-changed world. The landmark legislation was designed to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions and enable the UK to become a low-carbon economy.

Friends of the Earth argues that abandoning the UK’s world-leading climate legislation would be a grave and cynical mistake that risks worsening climate impacts, deepening inequality and damaging the UK’s reputation. It would also undermine Britain's entrepreneurial ability and flies in the face of the Conservative Party’s historical positioning as pro-innovation and business.

Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said:

“Kemi Badenoch’s desperate attempt to sound like Donald Trump on climate change is taking her party further away from the interests of future generations, businesses, and the needs of ordinary people.

"Millions of lives are already being ruined and nature is being pushed to the brink. An act of political vandalism of this scale will not be easily forgiven or forgotten. For a mainstream political party to turn its back on the science in a desperate race to the bottom with those being bankrolled by discredited billionaires and dirty business, who want to stop climate action because it threatens their profits, is political suicide.

"Climate change is not some theoretical threat, we can see it out of our windows, in our flooded communities, in the excess deaths from extreme heat and in the supermarkets with rocketing food price increases.

"Far from being the party of business, it will position the Conservative Party as has-beens alongside a motely alliance of climate denialists, conspiracy theorists and far right extremists who want to ignore the killer floods, droughts, storms and wildfires that are threatening our future."

Extreme weather events caused by climate change are already affecting communities around the world, particularly in countries that have contributed least to the problem and have fewer resources to tackle it. In the UK, people on the front lines of climate breakdown include those who can’t afford to insure their homes against flooding, adapt them to extreme heat and struggle with rising food costs as climate extremes impact harvests and hit British farmers.

The Climate Change Act recognises that the UK, as the 8th largest historical contributor to the climate emergency, has an important role to play globally in preventing climate impacts getting significantly worse. While the most marginalised communities overseas and in the UK are already being harmed, the scale of impacts could be far greater for future generations through significant sea level rises, more extreme weather events and large-scale shifts in weather patterns causing chaos for food production.

Many of the earliest targets from the Climate Change Act have already been met and exceeded, demonstrating how green economic activities have outperformed other areas of the economy. Last year, the green economy grew by over 10% and now supports almost a million jobs.

Friends of the Earth says that dialling back on climate action also ignores how reducing emissions is crucial for easing the hardship being felt across the country and improving people’s lives, with lower energy bills, cleaner air, warmer homes, better public transport, stronger energy security and hundreds of thousands of new jobs in clean industries just some of the benefits of the transition to a low carbon future.

Recent polling also shows that public support for climate action remains high and that people want their political leaders to take decisive action to safeguard our collective future. Polling earlier this year by the government found that 77% of British people are concerned about climate change. In separate research, that figure rises to 89% globally.

This is reinforced by YouGov polling for Friends of the Earth published in August, which shows that over 80% of British people support the expansion of renewable energy, including most Reform and Conservative supporters. 

ENDS

Friends of the Earth polling
8 in 10 Brits would support the UK generating more energy by expanding the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure, including nearly two thirds (65%) of Reform supporters. The new YouGov survey , commissioned by environmental justice organisation Friends of the Earth, also found broad public support for fair climate policies. Britain’s renewables expansion backed by overwhelming majority of people | Friends of the Earth

The Future is Green: The economic opportunities brought by the UK’s net zero economy
https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/owxdidg1/cbi-economics-eciu-the-future-is-green-report-2025.pdf

PwC’s 2025 State of Decarbonization: 84 percent of companies are either maintaining or accelerating their decarbonisation goals, signalling that corporate sustainability remains a strategic priority across industries PwC's Second Annual State of Decarbonization Report

Earth Day 2025: Where do Britons stand on climate change? 84% of Britons of the view that the climate is changing, and more than six in ten Britons (62%) believe that concerns about the effects of climate change have not been exaggerated Earth Day 2025: Where do Britons stand on climate change? | YouGov

Concern about climate change: 77% of people in the UK say they are concerned about climate change DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker: Net Zero and climate change, Spring 2025, UK - GOV.UK

The 89 Percent Project Around 89% of the public want their governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis A silent majority of the world’s people wants stronger climate action. It’s time to wake up Study: Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action