The Guardian view on climate policy: Britain needs clean power, not culture wars | Editorial

Kemi Badenoch's plan to scrap the Climate Change Act is reckless. Ed Miliband offers a bolder, fairer vision. The future must be built on renewables

Let's scrap Britain's successful climate law so we can burn more gas, lose investment and have higher bills. Crazy as it might seem, that is the message of KemiBadenoch's new energy strategy. The Conservative leader proposes to repeal the 2008 Climate Change Act in favour of a plan to maximise oil and gas extraction", and remove all legally binding carbon targets. It's pitched as pragmatism. But it's a lurch into ideological self-harm.

Britain's energy problem isn't its climate legislation, which is admired globally, backed by industry and supported by the public. It's that this country remains too dependent on volatile fossil fuels. Emissions targets are not the reason for high bills. It is gas prices, which skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine. They set UK electricity prices. In Europe, they don't - that's why bills are lower there. Rather, Mrs Badenoch is choosing to follow DonaldTrump in rolling back climate goals and seeingelectricity prices in the US rise, not fall.

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