Britain’s former Labour PM Sir Tony Blair has attacked the current PM Sir Keir Starmer over his net zero policies.

Net zero is ‘doomed to fail’, Blair said, adding that politicians must face ‘inconvenient facts’ about expensive and inadequate green policies.

To the dismay of some green campaigners he is calling called for a “reset” of action on climate change

In remarks that have antagonised some in the Labour party and the industry, Blair said people were “being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal”.

The Telegraph reports: Writing in the foreword to a new report from his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, Sir Tony accused leaders of being “terrified” to admit that climate policies were not working.

“Present policy solutions are inadequate and, worse, are distorting the debate into a quest for a climate platform that is unrealistic and therefore unworkable,” he said.

“Too often, political leaders fear saying what many know to be true – the current approach isn’t working. But they mustn’t be silent – there’s a new coalition to build; one that unites disillusioned activists with technologists and policymakers ready to act.

“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’.

“As ever, when sensible people don’t speak up about the way a campaign is being conducted, the campaign stays in the hands of those who end up alienating the very opinion on which consent for action depends.”

He said rising demand for the production of fossil fuels meant that trying to curb their use would not work, adding: “These are the inconvenient facts, which mean that any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail.”

The report, Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change, said that net zero policies were “increasingly viewed as unaffordable, ineffective, or politically toxic”. It said that in many economies “the promise of green jobs has not materialised at the scale expected.” 

So what does Sir Tony propose?

According to the Independent: He proposes a new model which must evolve to match ambition with delivery: “We now need a new process that scales global solutions.” Instead of eliminating emissions with green energy and electric cars, the papers urges governments to prioritise global investment in carbon capture – investing in solutions that capture emissions at source before they reach the atmosphere, together with breakthrough technologies like direct air capture that permanently remove carbon.

The TBI also wants them to harness the power of technology, including AI – decarbonising smarter and faster, technology can turbocharge the path to net zero, from smarter tech delivering lower bills, to better systems and faster progress.

It argues that AI applied to energy efficiency and the better use of the energy grid is potentially revolutionary in reducing energy demand.

There is also a call to invest in frontier energy solutions – including new generation nuclear and fusion technologies. The papers argue that small modular reactors offer hope but need integration into energy strategy. Scaling up means less pollution, more jobs and new abundant energy sources that don’t fuel the climate crisis.  

The TBI also wants Starmer’s government and others to scale up nature-based solutions – from planting forests to developing carbon-smart crops, we must harness the power of nature and science together. They argue that nature is one of our best allies in this fight, and we need to back it with smart science and innovation.