‘A Clear Majority’: Nearly 9 in 10 MPs Stand Firm on 2050 Net-Zero Goal

A recent poll shows that a substantial majority of UK MPs, 84 per cent, still back the country's legally binding net-zero emissions target, even as key political leaders challenge its viability. This target, set for 2050, was locked into law during Theresa May’s time as Prime Minister and has recently become a political fault line at Westminster.

Reform UK has long positioned itself against the target. The party argues that countries like the United States and China should shoulder the bulk of the global decarbonisation burden. In their view, the UK’s efforts make little difference in the grand scheme.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has added fuel to the fire. She recently declared the 2050 goal “impossible” to meet without damaging the economy. That view runs counter to the Government’s climate advisors, who estimate the transition to net zero could be managed at the cost of less than half a per cent of GDP. They also warn that failing to act carries far greater risks—both economically and socially.

Yet the numbers don’t lie. The YouGov survey shows that most MPs simply aren’t buying what Badenoch or Nigel Farage are selling. The majority want the 2050 target to stay.

Parliament currently leans heavily towards Labour, with 403 Labour MPs compared to 120 Conservatives and just five from Reform UK. Interestingly, even within the Conservative Party, there is no clear consensus. While four in ten Tory MPs agreed with Badenoch’s claim that net zero by 2050 is no longer feasible, three in ten outright disagreed. The rest were undecided or ambivalent.

The poll also revealed a broader issue: not all MPs grasp the full weight of climate science. Only about two-thirds agreed that achieving net-zero emissions is essential to preventing the worst impacts of climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly stressed that net zero is the world’s best chance at capping global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. That figure isn’t arbitrary. It’s the threshold embedded in the Paris Agreement, an international accord signed by over 180 countries.

According to the IPCC, passing the 1.5-degree mark significantly increases the likelihood of severe damage to public health, food systems, biodiversity, and economic stability. Some effects would be irreversible. Others would be beyond adaptation.

While the UK is responsible for only about one per cent of annual global emissions, its consumption habits and overseas investments drive far higher emissions elsewhere. This broader footprint—what experts refer to as "consumption emissions"—adds another layer of responsibility.

Labour’s ambitious goal to decarbonise the national electricity grid by 2030 has sparked political debate. It’s a full five years ahead of the Conservative timeline. It has become a lightning rod for criticism from those sceptical of net-zero policies.

The real friction, however, may not lie in Parliament—it may be at the local level. Many MPs fear backlash from their constituents when it comes to new energy infrastructure. Building out more generation, storage, and distribution capacity is essential for a net-zero grid, but will voters support it?

Surprisingly, the answer may be yes. A recent poll by Climate Barometer of nearly 2,800 UK residents found that 69 per cent would support new onshore wind projects in their area. That figure rises to 73 per cent when it comes to new solar installations. In stark contrast, only about 30 per cent said they would be comfortable with fracking operations near their homes.

Commenting on the findings, Alasdair Johnstone, political and polling lead at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “The clear majority of the British public support the net-zero target, and even the majority of Reform voters support action to tackle climate change.

“Yet there’s still confusion among MPs over the fact that reaching net-zero is essential for the world to stop climate change and the floods and droughts it causes getting ever worse.”