Labour is the only party taking the climate crisis seriously, according to climate minister Katie White, who argues that the political consensus on climate action is under threat from both the right and the left. Writing in a newspaper article, the Labour MP for Leeds North West and minister for climate in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero warns that 2026 is seeing the consensus start to crack, even as global energy supplies are choked by the war in Iran.
White highlights that Reform UK's Richard Tice has described the claim that human activity is the main cause of the climate crisis as 'absolute garbage', despite companies he has led boasting of 'zero net emissions' buildings with solar panels and electric vehicle charging points. Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who once backed net zero as 'crucial', now wants to repeal the Climate Change Act, reverse Labour's ban on new oil and gas licences and disband the independent Climate Change Committee.
However, White notes that the public remains strongly in favour of climate action, with 84% of Britons saying the climate is changing and 68% wanting government action. She argues that the country is 'not divided, it's decided' on the issue, and that letting the consensus slip helps no one.
But White is also critical of the Green party, accusing it of blocking vital infrastructure needed for the transition to clean energy. She says Green councillors oppose pylons in Suffolk, block solar in Kent and push back on schemes to clean up London's air. She claims that across 10,000 words of Green party material in 21 leaflets since Zack Polanski became leader, there has been only one mention of climate change.
White insists that Labour is now 'Britain's climate party' because it is prepared to build. She points to the near-elimination of coal from the energy system, renewables generating more than half of electricity (up from 6.5% in 2010), and the government securing enough clean power for more than 23 million homes in less than two years. Labour has also backed new nuclear, approved record solar, and set up Great British Energy to invest billions in offshore wind, hydrogen and solar on school rooftops.
