Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has backtracked on remarks which appeared to cast doubt on his commitment to the party’s net zero target.
The row comes as fears grow that Boris Johnson’s successor as prime minister will ditch the pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Chris Skidmore – the former energy minister who leads the Net Zero Support Group of environmentalist backbenchers – tweeted that Mr Tugendhat had told a hustings event the target should be moved back.
But Mr Tugendhat, the perceived moderate left in the race, claimed he was merely questioning how best to achieve the 2050 net zero emissions.
Asked about his views by reporters on Thursday, he said: “Of course I agree with the target, but nobody yet has set out a path to achieving it.”
Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss all offered clear backing for the 2050 net zero target at Wednesday night’s hustings, according to Mr Skidmore.
But Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to change the “concept” of the target, while Suella Braverman said the 2050 date should be moved back.
A Tory source told The Independent that Mr Tugendhat told MPs that the landmark date should be looked at again.
But the moderate appeared to offer his support for the push to cleaner energy supply when speaking to reporters on Thursday, saying it was vital to invest in new technologies.
“We keep talking about net zero as a cost – it is also a benefit,” he told reporters. “We could be imitating the Norwegians and actually making money from carbon capture.”
Senior Tory MP Steve Baker – founder of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group – has suggested that he would push for the next PM to dismantle the government’s climate agenda.
Ms Braverman, Mr Baker’s favoured candidate, has said the party should “suspend the all-consuming desire to achieve net zero by 2050”.
Ms Badenoch has also publicly branded the net zero target “unilateral economic disarmament” and has vowed to ditch policies which “consume taxpayers hard-earned money”.
Ms Truss, Ms Badenoch and Ms Mordaunt all said they would suspend green taxes on energy bills. The levies help pay for investment in renewable energy needed to move Britain away from fossil fuel dependence.
“I’d have a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy … while looking at the best way of delivering net zero,” Ms Truss told The Spectator.
Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith told The Independent earlier this week that it would be better to have a Labour government than a Tory leader who “deprioritises” action on net zero.
And Alok Sharma, the former business minister and president of the Cop26 climate conference, has also warned Tory leadership that backtracking on net zero is “a road to nowhere”.
Meanwhile, Mr Tugendhat – who won 37 votes in the first round – has denied he would be dropping out of the Tory race. “I’m still in this fight,” he said.
Telling reporters that he had been wooed by other candidates to back them, he said: “I feel like a prom queen”.
