The Saffron Walden MP had previously likened the goal to “unilateral economic disarmament”, but after questioning by Alok Sharma, the chairman of Cop26, at the demonstrations in parliament on Monday she said she supported it. All five remaining leadership candidates have now endorsed net zero. Chris Skidmore, the chair of the all-party environment caucus and organizer of the walkouts, said: “For most people watching this debate, they were appalled that someone would think they have a mandate to single out our climate commitments. Alok [who chaired the hustings] she was pretty tough and made sure everyone went on the record supporting net zero and our climate commitments. Now they have all five.” Badenoch, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Tom Tugendhat were given around 15 minutes each to present their climate plans to an audience of 40 MPs and Tory peers at the event organized by the Conservative Environment Network. It took place in the sweltering heat of the House of Commons committee chambers during the hottest day of the year so far. MPs who attended the closed meetings said they were pleasantly surprised. After a contest in which it was difficult to get candidates to even say they would make environmental commitments, there seems to have been a change of heart and most candidates have risen to the occasion with some interesting environmental policy ideas. Rebecca Pow, former environment minister, asked questions at the hostels. He then said: “Everyone seems to ‘get it’, some have more knowledge than others, but everyone is committed to the current policies and I think everyone came through very strongly.” Pau supports Sunak and said she felt his answers were the strongest: “He understood more than anyone how you use land to increase biodiversity and reduce emissions, but they all made very good points, especially on issues like energy efficiency”. During the competition, biodiversity and nature restoration were not mentioned much. Some MPs are concerned that the new prime minister would not be keen enough to attend the Cop15 nature summit later this year. Former chancellor Sunak said the conference in Montreal, Canada, in December was “very important” but did not commit to attending. Truss, the foreign secretary, gave the strongest response according to the audience, telling them she would not only attend, but lead a delegation. Truss also said she wanted to revisit the EU’s habitats directive and instead have a stronger, UK-based biodiversity target, based on animals and plants at risk here rather than in the EU as a whole. Sunak surprised the audience during a speech that otherwise focused on finance and technology, saying that peatland restoration was his “pet project” and was the equivalent of the British rainforest. Sharma’s intervention in the Observer at the weekend, in which she said she might quit if a Tory leader did not back net zero, appeared to make the difference, with Truss quipping that her “main priority is to make sure Alok he will not resign.” Skidmore said there was a shift in focus after the weekend, with all candidates wanting to appear strong on the environment. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST He explained: “I think it’s the heat, and I also think Alok’s intervention made the difference. There have also been a number of updates behind the scenes. But also once Rishi and Liz support net zero commitments, suddenly everyone wants it and there’s a tipping point.” The candidates seem to have spent the weekend with more detailed environmental policy. Mordaunt said she would like to increase investment in marine renewables, while Tugendhat argued for growing green industry in the UK rather than finding jobs in countries with looser emissions standards. Tugendhat also said the vote against the sewage pollution crackdown was his biggest regret in parliament and said as prime minister he would prioritize preventive measures. Sunak said he focused on “growth, markets and innovation” as a way to reduce emissions and reach net zero as well as grow the economy. He also vowed to improve the country’s housing stock, saying we have the “worst homes in Europe” for energy efficiency. He said Northern Ireland had an effective energy efficiency strategy that England could copy.
