Tony Blair Opens Mouth On Climate, Ends Up Sounding Like Nigel Farage: Starmer & Labor Attempt Damage Control

[hatrack]

Tony Blair has come under criticism from climate experts and politicians after warning that any strategy relying on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels was “doomed to fail”. The former prime minister’s comments, published in a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), triggered an internal row within Labour, with some accusing him of playing into the hands of a narrative used by rightwing parties to delay climate action.

Blair argued the political case for net zero was faltering and that governments should prioritise “realistic” climate strategies, including a greater focus on adaptation measures and technology-based solutions. He noted the current climate approach “isn’t working”, with the debate having “become irrational” and people “turning away from the politics of the issue because they believe the proposed solutions are not founded on good policy”. “In developed countries, voters feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal,” Blair wrote in the foreword for a report from the TBI.

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A senior Labour MP said: “It’s maddening. Blair parachutes in and is handing talking points to the Tories and Reform on a silver platter. TBI might want to remember it’s not running the country.” The TBI has since released a statement which said: “The report is clear that we support the government’s net zero targets, to give certainty to the investors and innovators who can develop these new solutions and make them deployable. People support climate action, and it is vital that we keep the public’s support for how we do it.”

The Green party peer Jenny Jones described the former Labour prime minister as “completely out of touch” on climate policy. She said: “UKLabour should ignore him as a past relic. Net Zero is popular with people. Who can argue with warmer homes, better public transport and (potentially) much cheaper energy, when we unlink from gas.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/30/tony-blair-risks-sending-absolutely-wrong-message-says-climate-expert

[NNadir]

1. The fact that the current climate approach isn't working is not an excuse...

...for doing nothing. It is a sign that the approach, not the goal should be changed.