The urgent changes needed to net zero policies to save UK jobs and industry
By johnredwood on October 5, 2025
The first policy to change is the ban on new oil and gas exploration and development. Importing instead means no well paid ,jobs in the UK. It means large tax revenues on producing fossil fuels goes to the government of the country we buy from, not to the UK Treasury. More CO 2 is generated, especially when importing gas as LNG. That requires large amounts of energy to compress and cool it, keep it cool, transport by diesel ship and then convert it back to gas.
The second is to consult on a way we could reinstate exploration and production onshore. There can be strict rules about drilling well away from homes and towns, about concealing from view the well head workings as at Wytch Farm in Dorset, and community participation in the revenues for those closest to the development or owning land above the reservoir. No other country leaves such an important resource untapped. We could extract it with less environmental impact than the gas we import imposes on somewhere else.
The third is to remove the ban on producing more diesel and petrol cars in 2030, and to remove the intermediate targets and penalties on companies making too any of them in the run up to 20230. This is massive self harm, undermining our industry and leading to more imports after 2030 as people will still want to buy diesel and petrol cars, and will buy nearly new if they are banned from buying straight off the production line. Overseas companies will have a great market opportunity to send us new cars with whatever the minimum mileage is to qualify as second hand in the UK on the clock. No government can stop us buying and selling second hand diesel and petrol cars.
The fourth is stop paying guaranteed prices for new wind and solar projects, but to let them bid into the system as other generators do. The government should end renewable subsidies. Adding more heavily subsidised renewables with high guaranteed prices makes electricity dearer, not cheaper. It adds to the need for very expensive expansion of the grid to handle the interruptible power often coming from many miles away from the consumers. We need more reliable gas power stations in the areas where most people live and businesses are located.
The fifth is remove any idea of banning gas boilers and subsidising heat pumps for residential property. Gas boilers usually remain the cheapest solution to install, and we lack the extra electricity to allow major switching to electricity for home heating.