Tory hopefuls Sunak, Mordaunt, Truss and Tugendhat commit to net zero
Four of the five remaining Tory leadership hopefuls – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss and Tom Tugendhat – have committed to maintaining the government’s legally binding goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
The contenders for the Tory leadership have signed up to a raft of pledges put forward by the Conservative Environment Network (CEN), including continuing with the post-Brexit nature-friendly farming subsidies and switching to renewable energy.
The other leadership candidate, Kemi Badenoch, had not yet signed up to the pledge, and has previously described the net zero target as “arbitrary”. She has been contacted for comment.
The pledge specifically commits candidates to delivering the government’s key environmental targets, including net zero by 2050 and halting species decline by 2030.
It also commits candidates to a reform of the EU’s farming payments scheme, and instead paying landowners to protect the environment. Those who sign the pledge affirm that they think renewable energy is the future, and vow to invest in new clean technologies.
The pledge declares that “care for the environment is core to conservatism” and commits to “continuing the Conservative party’s leadership on the environment” and to “addressing the defining environmental challenges of our generation”.
There has been a fierce battle between Tories regarding the climate and environment, with minister and peer Zac Goldsmith even saying he would vote for an opposition party if a Conservative leader ditched net zero.
The green wing of the party has been fighting to regain control of the conversation around climate and net zero after two leadership candidates, Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman, who is now out of the race, said they would push
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