Andrew Marr: Ministers know they must tackle the climate crisis but they are also fighting the cost of living crisis

28 June 2023, 20:02

Andrew questions government's decision to push back net-zero

Andrew Marr says ministers face a dilemma between the green revolution and the nation's finances.

LBC's presenter said while the government is told about the grim science of the climate crisis, it also needs to address the cost of living crisis.

Speaking at the start of Wednesday's Tonight with Andrew Marr, he said: "One of the big problems in politics is what you could call crisis scheduling - do you turn first to the huge problem coming soon but not here yet, or do you concentrate on the one in front of your nose?

"The big one is climate change. If mankind can't slow down the heating of the planet, all our futures, and our children's, are hammered. Back at the international climate summit in Glasgow in 2021, Britain was taking a proud lead.

"But today's report from the government's climate change committee, led by the former Tory cabinet minister Lord Deben - you may remember him as John Selwyn Gummer - says progress towards new wind and solar farms and upgrading the grid is too slow to meet net zero targets, and the UK has lost its leadership on climate action, partly thanks to a new coal mine and new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

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"These were "total nonsense" Lord Deben said today; "How can we ask countries in Africa not to develop oil? How can we ask other nations not to expand fossil fuel production if we start doing it ourselves?"

"So why this failure? Ministers can read the science. They know, I suppose, just how serious and imminent the threat is.

"Trouble is, there's another crisis, even closer to hand - the cost of living crisis, the can't pay our bills crisis. And if the easiest way to keep bills down in the short-term is to keep the oil and gas flowing, delay the switch to electric cars and the new heat pumps - what some on the right call the "green crap" - well, we know what happens.

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"Tory MPs want the carbon tax, which ends up on household bills, to be scrapped. Let's save the planet but not quite yet. And it isn't just the Conservatives.

"Trying to prove they won't raise taxes or borrow more, Labour has delayed its last year's promise to invest £28 billion a year in a green energy revolution until the middle of the next Parliament.

"There's a perfect example of the same dilemma today over the water companies - to pay for investment so they don't keep dumping filth into our rivers and coasts, they are talking about higher charges for their customers which is, come to think about it, all of us, because who doesn't use water?

"So on the one hand, a country that doesn't stink and fester. On the other, those wretched, terrifying bills. Which matters more? A little later on we'll be talking about the possible collapse of Thames Water - should it be nationalised?"