The UK's net zero-path urgently needs a rethink to save critical industries

6 May 2025, 11:16

The heart of the net-zero debate is in the right place, but a new approach is needed to stop the unnecessary erosion of critical British industries.

Last week, the Tony Blair Institute sparked controversy with a report accusing the net-zero agenda of being ‘riven with irrationality’.

‘The Climate Paradox’ calls for a more pragmatic approach to net zero and argues that any strategy based on phasing out fossil fuels in the short-term is ’doomed to fail’.

The report’s proximity to May’s local elections immediately politicised it. Some commentators rushed to defend the government’s net-zero plans, whilst others used the report as a stick to beat the ruling party with.

However, all this noise threatens to overshadow a very legitimate point – current approaches to net zero are proving disastrous for British industry.

Up and down the country, businesses are suffering because of a dogmatic approach to net zero that attempts to move too quickly and ignores the consequences of doing so.

Last Tuesday, 430 people lost their jobs following the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, after years of carbon taxes eroded the site’s competitiveness. Plans for a replacement facility remain conceptual whilst no investors are committed.

On the same day, Moorcroft Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent closed its doors after over 128 years of trading. The decision, largely attributed to soaring energy costs, has cost a further 57 workers their jobs.

This alarming trend reveals a dangerous blind spot in the UK’s climate strategy - racing to decarbonise without a thoughtful transition plan is costing the UK.

The rapid phasing out of fossil fuels has left us reliant on imports, which often come with higher carbon cost. The current renewables strategy has pushed UK energy prices to the highest in the G7.

And the recent crisis at British Steel demonstrated the cost of a failure to appreciate the important interconnectivity of industrial supply chains.

A balanced, long-term plan that integrates climate goals with economic reality is urgently needed. This should be evidence-based and seeks to manage the complex set of interconnected factors.

With the government’s long-awaited industrial strategy due this summer, the timing has never been better.

Tony Blair has gone to lengths to clarify that his intention is not to deny the need to decarbonise. Rather, he is calling for a more pragmatic approach to doing so.

To ignore this advice risks committing an act of economic vandalism at a time the UK can least afford it.

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Sharon Todd is the Chief Executive of SCI (formerly the Society of Chemical Industry)

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