What Would A Johnson Exit Mean For Climate Action?

Boris Johnson’s position is under threat as people across the country, and many of his own party’s MPs express their anger over Partygate. But where would a Johnson exit leave the UK on climate issues?

- Harry Cockburn

Internationally, the UK has had a politically enviable headstart on recent climate developments – from being the first country in the world to introduce a legally binding net zero target for 2050 and pushing for the closure of coal power stations to hosting the Cop26 climate summit.

While Johnson has a decidedly shaky history when it comes to championing the environment, for example, claiming in 2013 that “wind farms couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding”, in recent years, he has changed his tune, and is now among the Conservative Party’s more pro-environment politicians.

There are mounting concerns that any momentum the UK still has on reducing emissions and introducing policies to improve renewable energy, active travel and restoring biodiversity could potentially be lost under a new leader.

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told The Independent: “A successor to Boris Johnson would still be bound by the Climate Change Act, and the target of net zero emissions by 2050. It is also worth noting that the delivery of net zero was an explicit pledge in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto. Mr Johnson has made the correct assessment that climate action also offers huge economic opportunities across the UK.”