Advertising feature from Drax

Ever since it formally received parliamentary passage in June 2019, the UK’s net zero target has been the subject of vigorous debate. To its advocates – including Boris Johnson – the decarbonisation agenda presents a potential path to ‘green growth’, and a chance to supercharge Britain’s regional economies. Its critics, meanwhile, fear crippling costs as ministers rush headfirst into embracing what they see as inefficient technologies. As the Conservatives gathered in Manchester for their 2021 annual conference, The Spectator set out to bring together some of the party’s sharpest thinkers on the topic, alongside voices from industry, to give net zero the discussion it deserved.

The Prime Minister wants Britain to ‘lead the world’ on climate change. But what does this mean for our trade strategy? Will the low carbon economy open up new export opportunities, or make it harder to trade with big polluters? And how might we use our trade clout to persuade others to go green? These were the questions at the top of the agenda for the final session of The Spectator’s environmental summit – the Road to COP26 – and we were delighted, as ever, to be joined by an expert panel keen to answer them. ‘If we are successful in embedding net zero within the British economy, it will be an inherently strong part of our trade offer,’ said Bim Afolami MP, chair of the APPG on renewable energy, as he opened the discussion.