New Chair of Climate Change Committee says he will fight to retain political consensus on climate action
Wed 17 September 2025
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The new Chair of the Climate Change Committee, the independent, statutory body that advises the Government on progress against climate targets is calling for a restoration of political consensus on net zero.
Nigel Topping, who was recently appointed to the position told the PA news agency that he will fight for political consensus on net zero in the face of growing “headwinds”.
The discussion around net zero has become more contested over the last year or more, following the election of the Trump administration in the United States, encouraging a growth in 'anti-science' messaging.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform leader Nigel Farage have been pushing back at policies aimed at meeting the UK's legally binding commitment to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, Reform-led councils in Lancashire and Derbyshire have taken a different line from the party leadership on net zero issues, recognising that a large and growing number of jobs in their constituencies are in businesses working on the transition to net zero, or otherwise linked to it.
Nigel Topping said (reported by PA): “Our job is to make sure that people have the evidence to make informed decisions, not just follow easy, plausible, but misinformed arguments.
“A transition which is based on changing the energetic basis of society is hard, but it’s got huge benefits for households, for individuals, and for the UK, and (marks) an opportunity for us to continue to play a leadership role in the world.
“I want to make sure that we, the Climate Change Committee, play our role in continuing that broad consensus, with the details being hotly contested, but not the broad trajectory”.
A report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, published earlier this year found that between 2023 and 2024, the net zero sector grew 10.1% and now generates £83.1 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA), with £28.8 billion directly from net zero businesses and £54.3 billion from supply chain activities and broader economic contributions.
The report found that every £1 of value generated by the net zero economy is creating an additional £1.89 in the wider economy.
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