Is Labour's Net Zero Credibility Starting to Unravel? The emergence of a government of contradictions on local climate action

For a government that swept to power in July 2024 promising to make clean energy the "engine of economic growth," Labour’s actions 16 months in are raising red flags across the sustainability sector. While ambitious initiatives like Great British Energy signal intent, decisions to accelerate Heathrow expansion, explore additional North Sea drilling, and ease building restrictions in National Parks suggest a willingness to prioritize short-term gains over long-term decarbonisation. These moves are not just policy choices, they're eroding trust in the UK's net zero pathway.

In mere months, a pattern of contradictions, partial u-turns, and delayed clarity is emerging, threatening national targets and the efforts of local authorities, investors, and communities to deliver on the UK's legally binding 2050 net zero goal.

A Government at Cross-Purposes

Prime Minister Keir Starmer insists economic growth and climate action are compatible. Yet Labour's early record reveals tensions between economic revival and environmental imperatives.

• Heathrow's third runway, advanced by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh in October 2025 with a developer decision due by month's end, could add up to 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050 (equivalent to Scotland's yearly emissions) while aviation lacks scalable decarbonisation beyond limited sustainable fuels.

• Despite a manifesto pledge against new North Sea exploration licences, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband signalled openness to targeted additional drilling in September 2025, even as the policy led to no new wells approved this year for the first time since the 1960s. This perpetuates fossil fuel reliance, risks stranded assets, and muddies signals to global markets about the UK's green transition.

• Proposals in the October 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill to weaken National Park protections that would make it easier for infrastructure like roads and housing to be built on National Parks and landscapes, and in turn jeopardise vital carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots, contradicting Labour's nature restoration pledges.

• Strong indication that the Chancellor is going to announce a new charge-per-mile for electric vehicles in the upcoming budget to fill the hole in revenues from fuel duty.

Justified as "pragmatic" for jobs and housing, these collectively highlight a government grappling with reconciling bold rhetoric and fiscal pressures. Given the dire straits of the UK's economy there is a real risk that environmental programmes and very well-meaning policies and pledges could fall by the wayside.

The Missing Local Mandate

Amid national wobbles, local authorities - the frontline deliverers of net zero - languish in uncertainty. As of November 2025, there remains no statutory duty requiring councils to plan or deliver net zero outcomes, leaving action voluntary and uneven. Devolution deals, including "trailblazers" under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, mention environment and net zero as competences but provide no binding targets, dedicated funding, or fiscal tools for climate priorities like heat networks or retrofits.

Labour's localism talk of "empowering mayors and councils" clashes with inaction on embedding these in frameworks. Pioneering councils advancing renewables or efficiency upgrades now pause, awaiting elusive guidance and resources. This isn't strategic reflection; it's inertia stifling momentum, which urgently needs to be addressed.

Undermining Confidence and Investment

The real sting? Labour's mixed messaging is chilling private capital, essential for scaling local infrastructure. The UK Infrastructure Bank (now under the National Wealth Fund) identifies a £500 billion opportunity in local net zero projects by 2050, with up to £250 billion unlockable from private sources like pension funds and green bonds, if enabling reforms materialise.

Currently, there is not so much as a trickle of private capital finding its way in to support the financing local net zero projects. Instead, investors face:

• No statutory local duty to guarantee delivery pipelines.

• Rigid fiscal rules blocking councils from borrowing against low-carbon revenues like solar or EV charging.

• National policies veering between green innovation (e.g., hydrogen hubs) and fossil-tinged pragmatism.

Each flip-flop hikes borrowing costs and deters commitments, hitting local projects hardest: delayed retrofits mean higher bills and emissions for households, while forgone green jobs exacerbate regional inequalities. The tab? Not in Westminster, but in communities bearing the transition's brunt.

A Crisis of Direction

Labour stepped into a frayed landscape, inheriting eroded trust from prior mixed signals. Yet rather than chart a unified course, it's echoing pitfalls: splashy announcements over integrated strategy, central oversight over local agency. The Committee on Climate Change's (CCC) June 2025 progress report warns that, despite some advances, delivery remains "inconsistent" without local empowerment.

Crucially, the CCC's Seventh Carbon Budget (February 2025) underscores that local government influences around half of UK emissions—through buildings, transport, and waste—yet lacks commensurate powers, funding, or mandates. Absent alignment on devolution and fiscal reform, a "governance black hole" looms, where national ambition evaporates at the local level.

The Choice Before Labour

To rebuild credibility, Labour must pivot from contradictions to coherence. Three targeted steps, echoing LGA and CCC recommendations, would signal resolve:

1. Legislate a Statutory Duty: Mandate Local Net Zero Delivery Plans for all authorities, integrated with spatial strategies and backed by multi-year, ring-fenced funding for accountability and investor assurance.

2. Reform Fiscal Rules: Permit borrowing against net zero assets (e.g., heat networks, renewables) without debt penalties, catalysing billions in blended public-private finance.

3. Embed Net Zero in Devolution: Make climate resilience a core pillar of all deals, granting mayors powers over energy, retrofits, and transport with outcome-linked resources.

These aren't overhauls; they're foundational enablers, as urged by experts since Labour's election.

Words or Will?

Labour's path risks wasting precious time and goodwill. Net zero won't be won at COP or in manifestos, it demands empowered locals turning policy into practice. Right now, that foundation cracks under Heathrow tarmac, North Sea rigs, and parkland blueprints. The contradictions (growth versus green, devolution versus dictate) aren't quirks; they're warnings of a government still defining its climate spine.

To claim "clean energy superpower" status, Starmer must anchor it locally: with trust, tools, and unyielding alignment. Otherwise, the UK's decarbonisation road stays littered with intentions, and avoidable detours, which could ultimately undermine public trust in the wider net zero mission.