The public has not abandoned net zero, but it is becoming increasingly clear that voters are more sceptical.
A major study published last week by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, in collaboration with Ipsos and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation, suggests long-term trends in public opinion are moving away from the policy.
A significant majority (64%) still believe the government should be aiming for net zero by 2050, if not earlier, but this is far lower than the 87% recorded in 2021. Meanwhile, the share who feel the UK either does not need to reach net zero by 2050 or should not have a net zero target at all has risen from 9% to 26%.
This is not an isolated case. YouGov polling in late 2025 also painted a similar picture, with around 60% supportive of net zero, while opposition was at roughly a quarter.
So what might be driving this trend? What could it mean for the Government’s approach to Net Zero? And crucially, can this trend be reversed?
What has driven this change?
As with any key policy, be it immigration, the economy, or health, public attitudes towards net zero are shaped by multiple factors.
There is no doubt that the steady rise of Reform over the last 18 months has helped drive some of this trend. With the party sitting high in the polls, it has gained more media attention, and with that, it has a larger platform to push its anti-net zero agenda to a wider audience.
Misinformation is also likely playing a role here. Misleading or downright unfounded figures and statistics have been used increasingly by some commentators and print media to try to discredit net zero as a policy, like this recent reporting from The Times, for instance, which reported that Britain ‘will spend £4.5 trillion on the road to net zero’. Figures like these are often used to grab headlines, but they ignore the fact that maintaining and renewing the current system also requires major ongoing investment, and that continued dependence on fossil fuels comes with its own long-term costs and exposure to price volatility.
Yet I think there’s also a more fundamental reason for this trend, one that the government must recognise and be better at effectively explaining, and that is that most people have yet to see any material benefit to the transition.
It has been almost seven years since the UK made its first legally-binding commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 under the then Prime Minister, Theresa May. At the time, we were promised the transition would lead to lower energy bills and cheaper travel.
But since then, energy bills and public transport costs have continued to rise and, for most people, the prospect of upgrading to an electric car remains a pipe dream despite government initiatives to reduce costs. While a lot of this can be attributed to other factors, it is nonetheless easy to see how some people may feel like net zero is failing to deliver the benefits it promised.
What is the solution?
The public has shown that they are willing to be patient. A significant majority still support the goal of reaching net zero by 2050, and most people still believe the transition will be beneficial for society overall. But that goodwill only goes so far.
If the government is to reverse this trend, it needs to do two things.
First, it needs to be better at communicating the actual benefits of net zero. For too long, the debate has been framed primarily in terms of climate and “saving the planet”, rather than the long-term economic case: cheaper and more secure energy, investment in skilled jobs, and positioning the UK to compete in a global low-carbon economy. Crucially, politicians also need to be clearer that these benefits come through sustained, long-term investment and delivery, not an immediate drop in bills from one announcement or one new scheme.
In some ways, it is the same lesson as HS2. For years, the public case focused on shaving minutes off journey times, when the stronger argument was always about long-term capacity and resilience. Net zero needs the same shift: away from abstract global arguments, and towards a clear, credible case for the UK’s long-term economic interests.
Second, they need to be stronger at combating misinformation and challenging anti-net zero arguments. Too often, untrue claims by prominent politicians or commentators go unchallenged, or are challenged too slowly and too softly to cut through. When that happens, misleading narratives become “common sense”.
This has to be led from the very top. Ministers should be more confident and consistent in making the case for net zero, and clearer in calling out falsehoods, not with technical rebuttals alone, but with simple, repeatable facts that land with the public. The government needs to set the terms of the debate and challenge misinformation early and directly.
The public is still onside with net zero, but recent polling should be a warning sign: support is not guaranteed if the benefits feel distant and the debate is being won by sceptics. If the UK wants its economy to continue outperforming its size, it needs to face a simple reality. The future global economy will be a low-carbon one. Look at how quickly China is advancing in this space and you can see the direction of travel. The countries that lead on skills, supply chains and clean technologies will be the ones that benefit most.
That is why this moment matters. With some countries pulling back in certain areas, there is an opportunity for the UK to step forward, attract investment and build expertise. Done well, net zero could be one of the biggest economic opportunities for the UK since the Industrial Revolution. And if we get it right, we might just do some good for the planet along the way.