Net zero isn't act of economic harm, Theresa May says

Theresa May's government signed the net zero target into law in 2019

Former PM Theresa May has said the UK's net zero target should be seen as "the growth opportunity of the century", not an "act of economic harm".

Mrs May said the UK had a chance to lead "the green revolution", in a speech at the Conservative conference.

The former PM's government passed a law that committed the UK to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

At a conference event, Mrs May said she did that "because climate change is the greatest threat to civilisation".

But the UK's approach to net zero has come under intense scrutiny since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an overhaul of some green policies last month.

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The policy changes, including a delay to the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, provoked a backlash, with the government's climate change adviser saying the UK had "moved backwards" on net zero.

Mr Sunak has vigorously defended the shift. He has sought to frame his changes as "pragmatic" and highlighted the costs of low-carbon technology, such as electric cars.

But earlier this year, the Climate Change Committee - the government's independent advisers on cutting carbon emissions - warned that the UK's attempts to achieve its net zero commitments were already "worryingly slow".

Climate activists and some Conservative MPs have accused the prime minister of abandoning the UK's climate leadership by slowing down progress towards net zero.

Theresa May addressed party activists at Conservative Environment Network event

The prime minister's position on net zero has been a major talking point at the Conservative conference in Manchester.

And it came up again during Mrs May's speech at a fringe event organised by the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) on Monday evening.

Climate warning

The former prime minister said net zero, which means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, "isn't a cost to be minimised".

Mrs May told party activists: "It shouldn't be seen as that. It's the growth opportunity of the century.

"It isn't an act of economic harm, because we've already shown we can cut emissions and grow our economy at the same time."

She echoed Mr Sunak's view that "we must take people with us" on the journey to net zero, rather than "finger-wagging" and telling people they cannot fly or eat meat.

But in a warning to her party, Mrs May said "we must understand that the worst thing that can happen is to give Labour the lead on net zero".

Labour has promised to spend £28bn a year on green projects by the end of its first term in government, if the party wins the next general election.

Branding Labour "socialists" with a "bureaucratic" approach to net zero, Mrs May said the Conservatives must not "let Labour squander the economic opportunity that's ahead of us".