The net zero “leviathan” risks crushing the UK’s enterprise economy, the energy secretary will say today.
In a speech at the Innovation Zero conference for technology entrepreneurs in London, Claire Coutinho will warn of the perils of net zero policies if implemented in the wrong way.
Coutinho will say it must be the free market, not the state, that drives moves towards climate goals, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The UK has a target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But Rishi Sunak’s government has watered down several of the country’s eco goals, pointing out that progress towards net zero should not compromise working families.
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Coutinho will say climate policy is at a “fork in the road”.
“The first path is one I do not want to take us down. It is one with an ever-increasing and narrowing set of targets, where government dictates outputs and prices, and a net zero leviathan of central planning crushes our brilliant enterprise economy.
“The second is where we live with some uncertainty, knowing that it is one of the key stimulants of risk and product development that competes to win over consumers.”
Coutinho will argue that the second approach “gives us the space to tackle our emissions” while “keeping the lights on and costs low for British families and businesses”.
