Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Net Zero or ‘drill, baby, drill’? The future of UK energy Part 2 The Q&A Battle of Ideas Festival
#netzero
#ukenergy
#climatepolicy
#britishpolitics
#energydebate
In June 2019, the Conservative government amended the Climate Change Act to insert a target of ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050. At the 2024 General Election, all the major political parties, with the exception of Reform, promised to back the goal, with any differences being about when to implement various policies, such as gas-boiler and petrol-car bans. Reform is well ahead in the opinion polls, and calling for the end of Net Zero and the resumption of fracking.
Will the Net Zero consensus break down further – and should it? At a time when China’s greenhouse gas emissions dwarf those of the UK and are still rising, does it make economic or environmental sense to decarbonise? Or does the threat of climate change demand that the UK takes a lead and we accept lower living standards to save the planet?
The speakers on the panel are:
Jonny Ball - contributing editor, UnHerd
Dr Caspar Hewett - lecturer, School of Engineering, Newcastle University; co-director, NERC FLOOD-CDT; director, The Great Debate
Ruari McCallion - freelance writer
Ali Miraj - broadcaster; founder, the Contrarian Prize; infrastructure financier; DJ
Kathryn Porter - consultant, Watt-Logic
The chair is - Austin Williams - director, Future Cities Project; honorary research fellow, XJTLU, Suzhou, China; author, China’s Urban Revolution
Volunteers working with the charity WORLDwrite filmed 50 debates at the Battle of Ideas Festival. The charity now needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please chip in if you can by visiting the charity's JustGiving page at justgiving.com/charity/worldwrite Or hit the Donate button below the video. Thank you for your help and for watching.
Please subscribe to our channel.
Net Zero or ‘drill, baby, drill’? The future of UK energy Part 2 The Q&A Battle of Ideas Festival
#netzero
#ukenergy
#climatepolicy
#britishpolitics
#energydebate
In June 2019, the Conservative government amended the Climate Change Act to insert a target of ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050. At the 2024 General Election, all the major political parties, with the exception of Reform, promised to back the goal, with any differences being about when to implement various policies, such as gas-boiler and petrol-car bans. Reform is well ahead in the opinion polls, and calling for the end of Net Zero and the resumption of fracking.
Will the Net Zero consensus break down further – and should it? At a time when China’s greenhouse gas emissions dwarf those of the UK and are still rising, does it make economic or environmental sense to decarbonise? Or does the threat of climate change demand that the UK takes a lead and we accept lower living standards to save the planet?
The speakers on the panel are:
Jonny Ball - contributing editor, UnHerd
Dr Caspar Hewett - lecturer, School of Engineering, Newcastle University; co-director, NERC FLOOD-CDT; director, The Great Debate
Ruari McCallion - freelance writer
Ali Miraj - broadcaster; founder, the Contrarian Prize; infrastructure financier; DJ
Kathryn Porter - consultant, Watt-Logic
The chair is - Austin Williams - director, Future Cities Project; honorary research fellow, XJTLU, Suzhou, China; author, China’s Urban Revolution
Volunteers working with the charity WORLDwrite filmed 50 debates at the Battle of Ideas Festival. The charity now needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please chip in if you can by visiting the charity's JustGiving page at justgiving.com/charity/worldwrite Or hit the Donate button below the video. Thank you for your help and for watching.
Please subscribe to our channel.
