Tory MP Philip Davies brands PM’s environmental push ‘utterly futile virtue signalling’

Boris Johnson‘s environmental plan to make the UK ‘net zero’ has been branded ‘utterly futile, virtue signalling gesture politics’ by one of his own backbenchers.

Outspoken rightwinger Philip Davies made the remark in a letter to one of his constituents in Yorkshire this week, ahead of the Cop26 UN summit in Glasgow. 

Mr Johnson yesterday admitted he fears the major international climate change summit he will host from Sunday could fail to make the progress needed. 

The PM has made a raft of green announcements in recent weeks and months, with an over-arching goal of making the UK net zero in terms of carbon emissions by 2050.

But in the letter sent last week Shipley MP Mr Davies said the pledge ‘would make no difference at all to global temperatures – particularly when countries like China, India and emerging economies in Africa are going to be increasing their carbon emissions each year by more than our entire total’.

He added:  ‘Such action would be utterly futile, virtue signalling gesture politics which would also bankrupt the country along with many families.’

Mr Johnson yesterday admitted he fears the major international climate change summit he will host from Sunday could fail to make the progress needed.

In the letter sent last week Shipley MP Mr Davies said the pledge ‘would make no difference at all to global temperatures – particularly when countries like China, India and emerging economies in Africa are going to be increasing their carbon emissions each year by more than our entire total’

‘That is money the country and many of my constituents can ill afford; especially when the actions of other countries will make it utterly futile,’ added Mr Davies, in a letter first reported by Yorkshire Live.

‘It would be much more sensible to spend money on adapting to changes in the climate rather than an unrealistic view that we are going to change the world’s climate.

‘That change in the world’s climate is just not going to happen – anyone who thinks every country in the world is going to take these measures are in cloud cuckoo land.’

Mr Davies told the website: ‘A lot of my constituents will agree with what I have said.’

The Prime Minister will welcome world leaders to Glasgow for the United Nations Cop26 summit but said it was ‘touch and go’ whether key goals would be met.

‘We need as many people as possible to go to net zero so that they are not producing too much carbon dioxide by the middle of the century,’ he said.

Mr Davies is married to fellow Tory MP Esther McVey

‘Now, I think it can be done. It’s going to be very, very tough, this summit.

‘And I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need. It’s touch and go.’

Mr Johnson said ‘peer pressure’ at the UN summit could force some nations into action.

But with some major world leaders including China’s Xi Jinping expected to stay away due to the state of the coronavirus pandemic the chances of that tactic being a success may be limited.

Mr Johnson acknowledged ‘it’s very, very far from clear that we will get the progress that we need’ although he praised Australia for the ‘heroic’ decision to commit to net zero by 2050.

Downing Street said Mr Johnson was setting out the ‘realistic situation’ about the chances of Cop26 being a success.