Blair says current net zero policies 'doomed to fail'

[Social Media]

 

Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has called for a sweeping reassessment of current climate change strategies, warning that the global push for net zero emissions has taken an "irrational" turn. In a bold critique of prevailing green policies, Blair argued that the current approach, which asks citizens in developed countries to make significant lifestyle and financial sacrifices, is unlikely to succeed and risks undermining public support for climate action altogether.

 

 

Blair delivered his remarks in a foreword to a new report by the Tony Blair Institute, his own think tank, which advocates for a more realistic and economically sustainable climate policy. He warned that the effort to phase out fossil fuels rapidly is "doomed to fail," citing what he called “inconvenient facts” — a pointed nod to Al Gore’s famed description of climate change as an “inconvenient truth.”

 

 

“Political leaders by and large know that the debate has become irrational. But they’re terrified of saying so, for fear of being accused of being ‘climate deniers’,” Blair stated, expressing frustration that necessary debate on the practicality of current green policies is being silenced.

 

Highlighting the global energy outlook, Blair noted that airline travel is set to double in the next two decades, while urbanisation will fuel a 40 percent increase in demand for steel and a 50 percent rise for cement. Meanwhile, emissions from countries such as China, India, and those in Southeast Asia are projected to make up two-thirds of global carbon output by the end of this decade. Notably, China’s increase in emissions last year alone exceeded the entire carbon dioxide output of the UK.

 

“In developed countries, voters feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal,” Blair said. “Whatever the historical responsibility of the developed world for climate change, those with even a cursory knowledge of the facts understand that in the future the major sources of pollution will come principally from the developing world.”

 

The former Labour leader’s comments make him the most senior figure in the party to challenge its current climate stance. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has made net zero a cornerstone of his platform, pledging that 95 percent of the UK’s electricity will come from green sources by 2030. The party also supports ending new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences by the same year — a move that has drawn resistance from unions.

 

By contrast, the current government has signaled a less rigid approach. The prime minister has backed the expansion of Heathrow Airport with a third runway and delayed the ban on sales of hybrid vehicles beyond 2030.

 

Blair acknowledged that climate activism has been successful in bringing environmental issues into mainstream political discourse. However, he cautioned that the pressure has resulted in policies that are “distorting the debate into a quest for a climate platform that is unrealistic and therefore unworkable.”

 

Advocating for a more pragmatic route, Blair said efforts should focus on making green technologies affordable and scalable so that consumers are not driven toward cheaper, more polluting alternatives. He placed particular emphasis on the importance of carbon capture and storage — a technology that traps and stores carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use — calling it central to any viable strategy.

 

“The disdain for this technology in favour of the purist solution of stopping fossil-fuel production is totally misguided,” he wrote. Though Labour has promised £22 billion for research into carbon capture, it is not expected to be widely operational until the 2030s.

 

In Blair’s view, only by shifting toward evidence-based, economically feasible climate solutions can governments maintain public trust and effectively combat global emissions.

 

  Adpated by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-05-01

 

 

[ukrules]

All that new demand for electricity and no way to produce it.

They really dropped the ball by abandoning nuclear energy. Absolute muppets, all of them.

They should have been pumping billions (every year) into research and development to make them smaller, more modular and safer by using different fuels.

[Presnock]

totally agree with Mr. Blair on this issue.  To totally replace oil-based fuels for vehicles with electric vehicles when many places are already having rolling blackouts due to high use of the currrent electrity available.  I saw one report that said if one is building an electric vehicle manuracturing plant, first they needed to build an electricity generating plant in that area.  with global temperatures reportedly rising at an alarming rate, a/c will be required by many folks making the situation even worse. IMHO anyway.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Presnock said:

with global temperatures reportedly rising at an alarming rate, a/c will be required by many folks making the situation even worse. IMHO anyway.

I see the reports, but don't feel the 'rise', so dismiss the reports as more alarmist nonsense.

Same for sea level rises, I see the reports, but notice the "top dogs" buying beachfront property.

 

Tony Blair actually suggesting something sensible ...... has the world gone completely mad!

[sammieuk1]

What will Ed Miliband do next to make energy bills higher'.. send some chicken feed to Iranian pig farmers probably🤔

[blaze master]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

All that new demand for electricity and no way to produce it.

They really dropped the ball by abandoning nuclear energy. Absolute muppets, all of them.

They should have been pumping billions (every year) into research and development to make them smaller, more modular and safer by using different fuels.

 

Great comment. Imagine if the billions was trillions. Maybe divert some money from killing ourselves. 

 

 

[Harrisfan]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

Notably, China’s increase in emissions last year alone exceeded the entire carbon dioxide output of the UK.

Yes they dont care. Dumb lefty voters in the west keep voting left. Truly sad.

[KhunLA]

Do people still listen to that lowlife.   The mouthpiece of big oil, stating giving up fossil fuel is a mistake.

 

Shock, surprise, dismay ... 

 

... "Funding

 

Blair gave the reserves of his former business to provide the seed funding for his new Institute. On 21 July 2018, it was reported by The Telegraph that Blair had signed a deal worth £9,000,000 with Saudi Arabia." ... - wiki / Tony Blair