Less than a fifth of Brits actually believe the government will be able to reach its net zero commitments by 2050.
Research from the Tony Blair Institute, released today, has found there is an “emerging delivery deficit on net zero” in the UK.
It found that only 19% of the UK public think they will reach this climate goal.
Net zero does not mean the UK stopped producing carbon emissions altogether, but that the total amount produced is cancelled out by actions taken to absorb some of the CO2 already in the atmosphere.
Back in 2019, the UK was the first major economy to enshrine their pledge to reach net zero into law by 2050.
Five years later, it continues to be a pressing issue.
Support for net zero is still at 61%, while 69% of Brits are still concerned about climate change.
But, Brits clearly feel quite negative about actually achieving this goal.
There’s more optimism across the European continent as a whole, though, with 31% thinking their respective governments will reach their net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.
According to the non-profit, there is a way to remedy this. It notes support for net zero increases by 11% among climate sceptics when they are shown how technology will help reduce carbon emissions.
The TBI said: “A negative ‘doomer’ message, which is more often used, is much less effective.”
It also said: “Climate leadership, and climate finance for developing countries, are supported by the public because they are considered important elements in tackling climate change.”
Rishi Sunak has been criticised for rolling back some of the UK’s climate commitments last September.
The PM claimed he was sticking to the pledge to meet net zero by 2050, but also rolled back a proposed ban on the sale petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, and delayed the phase-out of gas boilers.