Support for the UK’s 2050 emissions eradication drive has increased since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, according to new polling.
As part of a wider survey, carried out for a new report by thinktank Onward on whether the political climate surrounding the net zero goal has changed, voters were quizzed on the issue before and after the Russian invasion.
This showed the balance supporting net zero increased from 49% in February, when the first poll was carried out, to 55% in the first week of April.
The survey also showed that a majority (55%) think the conflict means we should move faster rather than slower (28%) on net zero.
The public “overwhelmingly” prefer investing in renewables (68%) as the best way of securing the UK’s energy supply. Nuclear energy was ranked second at 47%, but only 29% of respondents selected coal and fracking.
Large majorities said they would support a windfarm or solar farm being built in their local area – 72% and 75%, respectively.
But opinion is more torn on the issue of nuclear power stations, with 35% saying they would support one being built in their area, exactly the same proportion as those who would oppose such a move.
More than two thirds (68%) think that the UK should restrict the import of Russian gas even if it makes bills more expensive.
The survey says the net zero target remains “overwhelmingly” popular. Three fifths (60%) of voters support the UK’s plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, six times the share (10%) who oppose the policy.
And the proportion (55%) of people who agree that the UK should keep its plan to reach net zero by 2050, even if it’s going to be expensive, is more than double the 25% who think the UK should scrap the plan if it is too costly.
The survey also shows that working class Conservative voters are more supportive of investing in renewable energy than their more affluent counterparts.
Any assumption that the Conservatives’ working-class voters are particularly sceptical about the benefits of net zero would be “completely unfounded”, says the report.
In addition, northern Tories are slightly more likely (51%) to support keeping the net zero target than the party’s voters in the south (48%). Northern Conservatives are also more likely to agree with the statement that “there is no good reason to get rid of the net zero target”.
And the survey shows that 46% of voters say they would be less likely to support a party that pledged to get rid of the net zero target, three times the 15% who say this move would make winning their vote more likely.
Among 2019 Conservatives voters, 51% say they would be less likely vote for a party that got rid of the net zero target, while 18% said they would be more inclined to do so.
However, while voters of all ages care about protecting the environment and investing in renewable energy, many older and working-class voters are put off by the language of “tackling climate change”.
The survey consisted of an online poll of just over 4,000 adults in the third week of February that was followed by a repeat exercise, which was half the size, in early April.
The publication of the report follows mounting pressure from Conservative backbenchers, who have seized on concerns about the cost of living, to make the government slow down the pace of its net zero drive. However prime minister Boris Johnson said during his visit to India last week that the government has no plans to scrap environmental and social levies on energy bills.