Andy Burnham has asserted his firm intention to achieve net zero by 2050 while unveiling nearly £30 million in funding for community-led renewable energy schemes.
The announcement comes after a parliamentary committee advised the Government to drop the term “net zero”, warning it has become toxic among the public.
Acknowledging widespread public concern following a summer of unprecedented heat, Mr Burnham said he was “acutely aware” of climate anxieties.
“The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is here and with us now,” the Prime Minister wrote in an opinion piece for the Guardian.
He argued that adapting to the situation will require changing “the way we travel, build homes and produce energy”.
“I have long seen the green transition as the best chance we will ever have to reindustrialise Britain.”
The investment in “People’s Power projects” will enable local communities to generate and manage their own green energy supplies, he explained, maintaining that “the only lasting way to bring down bills is to produce more of our own clean, renewable energy at home”.
He added: “I am determined that we meet the commitment on which Labour was elected and reach net zero by 2050.
“I want Britain to believe in itself again.”
The intervention marks his strongest stance yet on the climate agenda, following criticism from opponents who claimed he responded too slowly to record heat, droughts and wildfires over the summer. Met Office provisional data indicates 2026 was the UK’s warmest summer on record.
The premier is also under mounting pressure over pending decisions on whether to greenlight the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Environmental campaigners are demanding he block the projects, whereas opposition figures and fossil fuel representatives contend they would generate thousands of jobs and reduce household energy bills. Approving either project would throw his environmental commitments into question.
Following his remarks on Thursday, Greenpeace UK’s head of politics Ami McCarthy said: “The Prime Minister is right: the UK should feel determined to reach net zero by 2050 and the green transition is the rocket that will propel us there…
“Comments from politicians casting doubt on climate science and urging us to ‘drill baby drill’ are reckless and irresponsible.
“After a summer of record heat and terrifying wildfires, most people in the UK understand that climate change is a threat we need to prepare for – not downplay or ignore.
“Today’s support for community renewables, and the promise of more to come, is very welcome.
“But why this Government is still dithering over Jackdaw and Rosebank – schemes that will bloat the profits of a few fossil fuel companies and not billpayers – is a complete mystery.”
Mr Burnham’s insistence on net zero follows recommendations from the cross-party Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee to retire the phrase. The panel’s latest report warned the term has “lost much of its significant positive association” amid widespread misinformation.
Cross-party consensus on climate targets has weakened, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK calling for increased domestic fossil fuel extraction. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated the party no longer supports hitting net zero by 2050, while Reform UK branded the target “net stupid zero”.
The committee’s report stated: “The term net zero has lost much of its significant positive association. It increasingly acts as a distraction from the broader aims of the energy transition and as a lightning rod for opposition to climate action.
“As part of efforts to communicate the energy transition effectively, the term net zero should be dropped from the department’s (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) name and its key communications.”
The report added that “simply providing information will not be enough” to communicate energy transition plans effectively, warning it could deepen resistance among opponents.
Green entrepreneur Dale Vince said he had advocated abandoning the phrase since June.
He said: “Net zero has been toxified – abandoning the use of it is a good idea.
“Net zero speaks to giving stuff up, we should be talking about what we gain from the green transition. The green economy is a better term than net zero.
“If we drop net zero we take away one of the right wing’s biggest attack lines. I’m all for it.”
