Kemi Badenoch plans to scrap key climate pledges in fresh fight with Reform

Kemi Badenoch has announced plans to replace the UK's world-leading climate legislation with a strategy for "cheap and reliable" energy. The Conservative leader has pledged to scrap the Climate Change Act, brought in by the last Labour government in 2008, which committed the UK to cut climate emissions by 80% by 2050.

Under Theresa May's premiership, the Conservatives increased the target to cut greenhouse gases to zero overall, known as "net zero", by 2050. Mrs Badenoch has previously said it is "impossible" for the UK to meet its net zero targets and pledged to scrap them and "maximise extraction" of oil and gas in the North Sea. She said: "We want to leave a cleaner environment for our children, but not by bankrupting the country.

"Climate change is real. But Labour's laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions.

"Previous Conservative governments tried to make Labour's climate laws work - they don't.

"Under my leadership, we will scrap those failed targets.

"Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love."

Reform leader Nigel Farage has also vowed to fast-track North Sea oil and gas licences and scrap net zero targets if the party wins the next election, claiming it will save £30billion a year.

Climate campaigners and academics have erupted with fury at the announcement.

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said: "It is disappointing that the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch's leadership are aligning themselves with Donald Trump and Nigel Farage by ignoring the science and abandoning any serious effort to stop climate change.

"The claim that keeping Britain dependent on fossil fuels is good for economic growth is demonstrably false.

"Our dependence on fossil fuels causes high prices for electricity and heating for businesses and households. And we are experiencing growing costs from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and more intense and frequent extreme weather events. The only pro-growth strategy is to invest in domestic clean energy. It is clear that the Conservatives cannot now be trusted on the environment or the economy."

When the Climate Change Act was introduced, it was a world-first for climate legislation. Many countries have since followed suit, and nations agreed the world's first comprehensive treaty to curb global warming in Paris a decade ago.

Scientists warn the world must rapidly cut emissions to zero to prevent global temperatures rising to more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, beyond which worsening sea level rises, severe storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and the collapse of natural systems such as coral reefs will occur.