New UK PM deprioritises climate

Leadership campaign and recent appointment of a climate-change sceptic to lead on energy brief indicate a potential deceleration of the energy transition

Throughout an acrimonious Conservative party leadership campaign, eventual winner and new UK prime minister Liz Truss made it clear that climate would be a low priority for her compared with energy security and soaring consumer bills. Truss signed a pledge by lobby group Conservative Environment Network early in the leadership contest to affirm her commitment to meeting the UK’s net-zero target. The pledge also included subclauses supporting an expansion of renewables, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and home insulation. But her actual leadership campaign—aimed at winning votes among a more right-wing base within her party—took aim at a variety of domestic climate policies, from the