‘Net zero: the inside story’

Scientists urge renewed commitment to net zero target, underscoring the cost of inaction

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Published: October 26, 2025
This Article was written by: Katie Hill - My Green Pod
climate action, climate change, economy, film, media, net zero, policy, science

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Failure by the UK to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2050 would slow global efforts to end human-induced warming and lead to ever-more damaging and costly impacts, Imperial scientists have warned.

Following a summer of extreme heat across Europe which resulted in thousands of deaths attributable to climate change, including hundreds in England and Wales, Professor Joeri Rogelj, Director of Research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, said achieving net zero emissions remains essential to safeguarding lives and livelihoods.

‘We can’t escape the climate reality and we understand that it will only worsen as long as we keep emitting climate pollution into the atmosphere. This target is not only important for its symbolism, but really to set the pace of the transition and the direction of the transition that is required.’

PROFESSOR JOERI ROGELJ
Director of Research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment

A global example

Professor Rogelj was speaking in a new film produced by the Grantham Institute exploring the factors that led to the 2050 target being set in law in 2019, and why it remains critical today.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who was interviewed for the film, said the landmark legislation adopted under her premiership had set an example to the rest of the world and pushed other countries to pursue more ambitious climate action.

‘Net zero matters to us because it’s about the future of our planet, the future of our lives, the future of our economy, of our societies, so we need to take net zero seriously.

‘It also means avoiding some of the costs of not doing anything.’

BARONESS THERESA MAY
Former Prime Minister

The economics of net zero

According to findings published by the Office for Budget Responsibility in July, the cost of achieving the net zero target is far lower than the cost of inaction, and rapid declines in the cost of renewable energy technologies means it is now far cheaper to achieve the target than previously forecast.

Based on a scientific assessment by the Climate Change Committee, the target represents an ‘appropriate contribution’ towards the international pursuit, set out in the Paris Agreement, to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, minimising the risk of catastrophic and irreversible impacts for vulnerable countries.

The amendment to the 2008 Climate Change Act was adopted with cross-party backing in 2019 and continues to enjoy high levels of public support, despite a sharp rise in political rhetoric in opposition to it.

Emeritus Professor Joanna Haigh, former co-director of the Grantham Institute, described the recent politicisation of the target as ‘really scary’ and warned that, without a concerted effort to cut emissions across the economy and address climate impacts, more people in the UK would suffer.

‘The science on net zero hasn’t changed; absolutely we need to get to net zero or the warming will continue, and the adverse effects will continue and get worse and worse and worse’, she said.

‘It is innovation and research that is going to take us forward, that will enable us, ultimately, to do what we need to do in order to maintain the future of our planet.

‘If we don’t get to grips with climate change, some of the member states of the Commonwealth will simply not exist in future because the oceans will rise, and they will be wiped away.’

BARONESS THERESA MAY
Former Prime Minister

Net Zero: The inside story of the UK’s climate target is the first in a series by the Grantham Institute on the contribution of scientific research and innovation to the development and implementation of domestic legislation and international agreements on climate change.