Blair Calls for Radical Climate Policy Overhaul, Citing Western Failures

Tony Blair has expressed concern that current Western policies aimed at addressing global climate change are ineffective, advocating for a significant overhaul to gain broader public support. His stance challenges existing net-zero policies and suggests a replacement for the COP process.

This intervention, coinciding with a sensitive period for the current government, criticizes the direction of current climate strategies. Blair, in the foreword of a new paper from his think tank, highlights a growing disconnect between voters and climate policies. He argues that people are being asked to make sacrifices without seeing a significant impact on global emissions.

The paper, authored by the Tony Blair Institute's director of climate and energy policy, calls for a dismantling of the COP international conferences and the formation of a "new coalition" to tackle the climate crisis. It suggests that the COP process is not delivering change quickly enough and needs to evolve to match its ambitions with tangible results.

Blair argues that while climate activism has successfully raised awareness, current policy strategies are out of touch with political, public, and economic realities, leading to a credibility gap. He believes that the climate movement needs a public mandate, achievable through a shift from protest to pragmatic policy.

He points to global trends, such as the projected increase in fossil fuel use and air travel, as evidence that current strategies are failing. He suggests that any strategy focused on phasing out fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is unlikely to succeed.

Blair acknowledges the role of COP in raising ambition but believes it will not deliver the necessary change at the required speed. He proposes a new model that focuses on global solutions, emphasizing the importance of decisions made by major countries regarding technology and financial flows.

The paper proposes prioritizing global investment in carbon capture technologies, including solutions that capture emissions at their source and technologies that permanently remove carbon. It also advocates for harnessing the power of technology, including AI, to accelerate decarbonization.

Additionally, the paper calls for investment in frontier energy solutions, such as new generation nuclear and fusion technologies. It also suggests scaling up nature-based solutions, such as planting forests and developing carbon-smart crops, to harness the power of nature and science in the fight against climate change.