Victory Hill Capital Partners' Lum: Short-term politics harms our climate future

'The green politics of envy'

Recent pronouncements by the UK government and opposition Labour party on climate policy, marked by abrupt U-turns and watered-down measures, are all in stark contrast to the lesson offered by science: ignoring the interconnectedness of the "energy trilemma" is playing with fire.

Rowing back on policies to phase out gas boilers and petrol and diesel vehicles, a moratorium on onshore wind and the announcement of new North Sea oil licences, all point to a softening of the UK's green ambitions. The UK prime minister defended the move to water down key green measures, defying the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee - a government linked think tank - arguing that the move would help the insulate the UK economy and that he had "absolute confidence and belief" the country was on track to meet its net zero goal. Meanwhile, Labour - which is strongly favour...