317. Why the UK must not drop climate leadership
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Why are UK voters losing interest in climate action and how can it be reversed?
In China, investing in green technologies has been a massive driver of growth, prosperity, and global economic power. But in Britain and America, political leaders make the case for more green investment at their peril, even after the hideously baking summer we've all experienced. So, how to make net zero fashionable again? How to persuade voters that reducing CO2 emissions will actually make them richer and improve the quality of their our lives. That's been the lifelong mission of Nick Stern, probably the most distinguished economist in this field. So is green investment the growth story of this century, as his book claims? Let's find out.
Support for this episode of The Rest Is Money comes from Octopus Energy. And back with us is the CEO and founder of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson. Right, Greg, you're dead successful for lots of reasons. Do you ever get imposter syndrome?
Yeah, I once read the uh a report about uh some research, uh I don't know how they did it, uh, about rats and mice.
Right.
And it said the difference between mice and rats is mice know they're not welcome. So when you go into the kitchen and turn the light on, the mice scurry away. But the rat just sits and stares at you. Because the rat, uh, you know, thinks it it's got every right to be there. It's almost like what are you doing here? So my advice when I do talks with students and people starting their careers is be more rats. Uh now by the way, it doesn't mean be arrogant, don't be entitled. You have to do your work, you have to justify the place, but if you do that, you've got every right to be there.
That's great advice. Be more rat, I like that. Thanks again to Octopus Energy for powering the rest is money. You'll be hearing more from Greg in the rest of our shows.
Nick, great to see you. Our mutual friend Adair Turner, former chairman of the Climate Change Committee, says the game is almost up. I mean, he fears, says, that there is literally no chance of limiting global warming to that Paris target of 1.5% above pre-industrial levels. In fact, he doesn't think we're gonna limit it to 2%. Do you agree?
I think it's clear that uh we're gonna pass one point five degrees centigrade in the next few years. So
that's over. We can't we can't any longer
Hang about. We're gonna pass one point five degrees centigrade in the next few years. Um I think Adair would agree that with the right kind of policies, the right kind of actions, we could hold below two degrees. Now, the Paris target was well below two degrees and efforts to hold to one point five. That's right. We're going to pass one point five, um, but we can, and and Adair has been discussing describing through his great work on the Energy Transition Commission how we could hold below two. So that's still possible. It's tough. We've got to invest a lot to get there. But if we make those investments, we embark on a whole new path of growth and development, much more attractive than the dirty destructive models of the past.
But going past 1.5, getting close to two degrees Even if we manage to hold it just below two degrees, is already quite dangerous.
I mean it's already many would say having a very deleterious impact on climate, on our lives. I mean, we've all just lived in Europe through another record-breaking summer of heat. Data was released over the summer, not relating to this year, but to r recent very hot years, which show excess deaths. Even in a country like the UK, rising significantly because of the heat. Most British people, when polled, say, despite the fact they might quite like sitting in their garden, they think it is too hot. So why is it? That apart from those who have campaigned on climate change for years and years and years at a party like the Green Party, why is it that more generally there is still tremendous scepticism about the kind of policies that you
advocate? If you look back to when we made those commitments of well below two degrees and efforts to hold to one point five, that was Paris twenty fifteen. I did the stern review ten years or so, or nearly ten years before that.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are UK voters losing interest in climate action and how can it be reversed?
0:01–11:42
2
What does Lord Stern say about the feasibility of staying below 2°C and the role of net‑zero policies?
11:42–25:11
3
How does the recent European heatwave illustrate the health costs of inaction on climate?
25:11–37:48
4
Why did China invest heavily in green technologies and what lessons can the UK learn?
37:48–43:36
5
What are the economic arguments for green investment as a growth engine for the UK?
43:36–49:21
6
How can the UK finance the energy transition without over‑burdening taxpayers?
49:21–55:59
7
What role should industrial policy and international cooperation play in securing supply chains?
55:59–58:45
8
How can the UK maintain global climate leadership while managing geopolitical tensions with China?
58:45–59:27
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Rest Is Money
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