Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reiterated his commitment to reaching net zero by 2050, arguing that the climate crisis is no longer a distant danger but an immediate challenge shaping life across Britain. His comments come as he prepares to make decisions over two controversial North Sea energy projects, while facing criticism that his response to the UK’s hottest summer on record has been too limited.
In a Guardian article, Burnham said the government must back community-led renewable energy schemes and give local people a direct stake in the transition to cleaner power. He presented the policy as a way to reduce emissions, lower energy costs and rebuild public confidence in national decision-making.
A renewed pledge on net zero
The prime minister said Labour had entered government with a clear environmental promise and intended to honour it. “I am determined that we meet the commitment on which Labour was elected and reach net zero by 2050,” he wrote. “I want Britain to believe in itself again.”
The statement represents one of Burnham’s clearest interventions on climate policy. The net-zero target remains opposed by the Conservatives and Reform UK, but the prime minister has sought to place it at the centre of a wider programme of local energy investment and economic renewal.
His article followed a summer marked by severe heat, drought and wildfire. Burnham said he was “acutely aware” that changing weather patterns were a major concern for the public, particularly after Britain experienced its hottest summer on record.
“British people understand the climate crisis threat. Today I’m empowering them to tackle it.”
The government has faced criticism for what some climate groups described as a muted response to the extreme weather. Burnham’s most visible summer measure was a ban on portable barbecues, an initiative that attracted attention but was criticised by campaigners who wanted more substantial action on heat resilience and decarbonisation.
He pointed to the human cost of extreme temperatures, including nurses collapsing on hospital wards and bus drivers working in vehicles exposed to 40C heat. Wildfires also destroyed homes, while further periods of extreme weather are forecast in the coming months.
“The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is here and with us now.”
Burnham said communities no longer wanted to be excluded from the response. Instead, he argued, they were looking for practical ways to contribute, with locally controlled energy projects offering one route.
Community energy and economic renewal
The prime minister’s proposed programme would provide funding for what he described as “people’s power” projects. Communities would hold a stake in local renewable schemes, including solar panels, wind farms and hydroelectric installations.
The policy is closely tied to devolution. Burnham said energy decisions should be brought closer to the places most directly affected by them, allowing neighbourhoods to retain more of the economic benefits. He also argued that the green transition could help restore Britain’s industrial base by creating new skills, supply chains and investment opportunities.
In the article, he highlighted examples from across the United Kingdom.
“Across Britain, people are taking back control of the things that matter to them: their pubs, their libraries, their leisure centres. Some have already done the same with energy.”
He said similar schemes were already operating in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, helping to keep local power available while supporting regional economies. The government wants to expand those models nationwide, although the scale and cost of the programme will be closely watched.
Burnham acknowledged that Britain must change how it travels, constructs homes and generates electricity. He described the green transition as the country’s strongest opportunity for reindustrialisation, arguing that environmental policy and economic policy could no longer be treated as separate questions.
North Sea approval puts pressure on the pledge
The political challenge is that Burnham must now decide whether to approve the Jackdaw gas field and the Rosebank oil field. Both projects have become flashpoints in the debate over energy security, climate credibility and the future of the North Sea.
A decision on Jackdaw, situated off the coast of Aberdeen, had appeared likely to come soon. It has now been deferred until later in autumn while Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh considers her recommendation. Consultations on Jackdaw and Rosebank closed last month, and Fahnbulleh has not yet published her final response.
Several Labour MPs warn that approving either project could undermine confidence in the government’s climate ambitions. They argue that new fossil-fuel production would send the wrong signal at a time when the UK is trying to accelerate renewable energy and meet its emissions targets.
The Greens are expected to exploit the tension. Zack Polanski, the leader of the Greens in England and Wales, is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection in the seat vacated by Keir Starmer. The party has accused Labour of delaying the Jackdaw decision in the hope of avoiding scrutiny before that high-profile contest.
Downing Street argues that Burnham has already been explicit about the climate emergency. He discussed it in his first Commons statement as prime minister at the start of September and visited Stourbridge in the West Midlands in August after fires there. Nevertheless, a group of environmental organisations accused him of failing to address the heatwave adequately.
Approval of Jackdaw, Rosebank or both would therefore place renewed pressure on the government’s 2050 commitment. The decision will test whether Burnham can present fossil-fuel production as compatible with net zero, or whether the projects will deepen divisions within Labour, among voters and across the environmental movement.
Why it Matters
Burnham’s intervention is an attempt to turn climate policy into a broader promise of local control, cheaper energy and industrial renewal. But the North Sea decision will determine whether that message persuades the public or exposes a contradiction at the heart of his government’s environmental record. The outcome could affect Labour’s credibility on climate, the political fortunes of the Greens and the government’s ability to claim that the transition to net zero is both environmentally necessary and economically realistic.
