As I’ve said before, one of outgoing UK PM Boris Johnson’s few redeeming characteristics (in my opinion!) was his conversion away from ‘lukewarmism’ and commitment to Net Zero. OK, so the policies to deliver on that commitment are more than a little bit threadbare, but at least the commitment was there. With every Tory MP and their dog throwing their hats in the ring to replace Johnson, what next for Net Zero?

According to the Guardian, only Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch have come out against Net Zero and they’re quite likely to fall at the first hurdle. Middle-ranking contenders Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid said they would stick to the pledge on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme. But the big question is: where does favourite “Dishy” Rishi Sunak stand?

Tracking through a variety of press articles (eg this and this) on the subject, I am none the wiser – a big speech on green investing at CoP26 has been followed by measures to increase North Sea oil & gas production in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. It all smacks of Johnsonian ‘cakeism’ – how he reckons we can have net zero and increased hydrocarbon production is the one question I would like to see put to him as the leadership competition progresses.