Public must be spared huge burden of net zero, says Tony Blair

Sir Tony Blair has warned against asking the public to do a “huge amount” to tackle climate change, saying Britain’s net zero efforts cannot solve global warming alone.

The former Labour prime minister stressed that climate change was the “single biggest global challenge” and said “Britain should play its part” in tackling it.

However, he pointed out that what the UK could achieve would be dwarfed by the impact of actions by countries such as China.

His cautious note comes as Labour and the Conservatives publicly debate how quickly to embrace the transition to net zero after the surprise Tory by-election win in Uxbridge last week.

Labour’s failure to take Boris Johnson’s old seat was blamed on a voter backlash against London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez), which levies a charge on polluting cars.

On Friday, the High Court will give a ruling on the legality of the Ulez expansion by Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor. Under the expansion, the zone will cover all of Greater London from Aug 29.

It comes amid wildfires in Europe, which some have blamed on climate change, while July is set to be the hottest month on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, with António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, warning that “the era of global boiling has arrived”.

In an interview with the New Statesman magazine on July 18, two days before the Uxbridge by-election, Sir Tony said: “Don’t ask us to do a huge amount when frankly whatever we do in Britain is not really going to impact climate change.

“The number one issue today – and this is where Britain could play a part – is how do you finance the energy transition?

“Because, basically, the developed world’s emissions are going down, but the developing world’s are going up. These countries have got to grow, so how do you finance the transition? Secondly, how do you accelerate the technology?”

A figure close to Sir Tony clarified that his “huge amount” comment was an echo of the arguments of others, although he deployed it to support his central point.

The former prime minister accepted that noting China’s sizeable emissions should not be a reason for doing nothing at all on climate change. He continues to support Britain’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

“Well, it’s the single biggest global challenge, right, and Britain should play its part in that,” he said. “But its part frankly is going to be less to do with Britain’s emissions. I mean, one year’s rise in China’s emissions would outscore the whole of Britain’s emissions for a year.”

China has emitted more carbon dioxide over the past eight years than the UK has since the start of the Industrial Revolution, according to figures published last year.

Sir Tony’s focus on the limits of what the UK can achieve alone in the battle against climate change comes amid debate about how radical to make green policies.

Figures involved in planning the Conservatives’ next election campaign are looking for more net zero “wedge issues” after the Tories hung on in Uxbridge amid the Ulez backlash.

In the past week, government figures have said landlords will get more time to make their rental accommodation greener and indicated that they would show “flexibility” on new electric car requirements.

Rishi Sunak has said he wants to make the UK a net zero carbon emitter by 2050 in a “proportionate and pragmatic” way that avoids “more hassle and more costs” for Britons.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, and Angela Rayner, its deputy leader, both publicly distanced themselves from Ulez the day after their party failed to win Uxbridge.

Sir Keir said he would “reflect” on the policy, and spoke to Mr Khan about his plans. The London Mayor has held firm on the expansion of the zone but is looking at extra financial help.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s World at One, Ed Miliband, Labour’s climate change secretary, denied there was a rift in the party over climate change policy.

Addressing claims of senior Labour splits, he said: “I am far too experienced to be worried about that kind of thing, because the truth is you always get tittle-tattle in Westminster.”

The party recently abandoned one flagship green commitment, saying £28 billion would not be borrowed to fund the net zero transition in year one of a Labour government.

That number remains the target, but Labour is no longer committed to a specific timeframe for when it will be achieved, citing the worsening financial situation over the last year.

On Thursday, Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, wrote to Sir Keir demanding that he make clear whether he supports or opposes the Ulez expansion in another sign of the Tories seeking political gain on the issue.

Meanwhile, Canterbury City Council, which is co-run by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, signalled on Thursday that it would abandon an “impossible, controversial and unpopular” traffic scheme in the city.