Political leaders have recently calculated that there may be political advantages to creating dividing lines on environmental policy, even though climate change ranks among the UK public’s top three concerns and polling suggests anti-environmental policy makes parties less electable.

Following Rishi Sunak’s recent review of environmental policy, the amount of carbon emissions required by 2032 to meet net zero targets, but not covered by confirmed policy, rose to 21 per cent from 13 per cent at the start of this year, according to Green Alliance analysis.

Ahead of the King’s Speech, we believe that the UK does not need a significant new legislative agenda: it should deliver on the policies and targets that the government has already committed to.