Public backing for climate change policies has tumbled with Reform UK calling on Labour to ‘scrap net stupid zero’
Labour has been urged to ditch plans to slash carbon emissions to net zero with public support for achieving this milestone before 2050 plunging by nearly half since 2021. Fewer than three in 10 (29%) people now say the UK should hit net zero before the Government’s 2050 target – down from 54%.
The share of Britons who do not think the country needs to reach net zero by 2050 or should not have a target at all has also shot up from 9% to 26%. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has warned achieving net zero by mid-century is “impossible” and pledged to scrap the target-setting Climate Change Act. Reform UK blames the drive for net zero for pushing up energy bills.
New research shows support for low-traffic neighbourhoods, taxes on those who fly more, subsidies for electric vehicle purchases, and a tax on environmentally damaging foods all declined between 2024 and 2025. The share of the public who say they are at least fairly worried about climate change has gone down from 83% in 2021 to 72% in 2025.
Reform UK Deputy leader Richard Tice said: “The British people were never properly consulted on this costly experiment. Now they’re seeing the impact on their energy bills, their jobs, and their standard of living it’s no surprise they’ve lost faith in any of it. It’s time to scrap net stupid zero, boost our own energy production and put British consumers first.”
Reform UK voters are the only group without a majority who were worried about climate change (48%). Conservative voters who are next least likely to be worried (63%). The sharpest increase in opposition to net zero targets is among older people.
In 2021, 11% of those aged 55-plus said either the UK does not need to hit its 2050 target or does not need a net zero target at all. This has risen to 35% – more than double the share of 16-34-year-olds (16%) who feel the same.
Despite the declining sense of urgency, the study by King’s College London, Ipsos and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations found nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents still say the Government’s target for net zero should be at least 2050, if not earlier.
The research shows people in the UK (69%) are still more likely than those in the US (58%) to think climate change is caused by human activity.
Professor Bobby Duffy of King’s College London, said: “This research reveals a striking decline in the public’s sense of urgency around climate action. The proportion who think we need to reach net zero sooner than 2050 has nearly halved since 2021, and support has fallen for every climate policy we’ve tracked over this period.
“But this doesn’t represent a wholesale rejection of climate action. Nearly two-thirds of the public still support reaching net zero by 2050 or earlier, and majorities of Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green voters all back this timeline.”