How the UK became the first nation to commit, by law, to net zero by 2050
‘It took [just] three lines of text and 88 minutes of debate’ - story 48
This is a fascinating account in The Times (paywall with occasional rfee read) So much of it is new to me.
Theresa May proposed the change to the Commons a week after she resigned as Conservative leader.
The instrument of change was so brief.
It changed a handful of words in the 2008 Climate Change Act.
There was no vote.
And that was it. Swift, succinct and without the fanfare that often accompanies such change.
The follow-up public announcement about a week later was laden with historical reflection. Britain, the statement noted, had led the world into the industrial era, its factories and coal mines fueling economic growth—but also setting in motion the environmental consequences the country now sought to remedy.
By that point, the UK had already been making significant progress in reducing emissions, having nearly halved them since 1990. The government emphasised the promise of “green collar jobs”—a term meant to capture the employment boom in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and carbon capture technology, though the phrase itself never quite took hold.
The legislation was recommended by Committee on Climate Change, the independent advisory body that had provided the intellectual and scientific foundation for the 2050 target. The committee, still a key player in the UK’s climate strategy today, argued that net zero was not only necessary but achievable.