Welcome to the DesNez

Rishi Sunak’s big play on the environment was the creation of a new Government department - the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Nicknamed DesNez by political insiders, its creation was timed to co-incide (almost) with Sunak’s first 100 days in office. This reshuffle has meant the Government’s work on net zero is now the focus of a whole Government department.

As Green Alliance note “the newly announced Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, now led by Grant Shapps, is a positive step that could have real impact if it’s given the funding and backing it needs.

“The spring budget will be the immediate test of that.”

But even more immediately, the government is expected to respond to Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review in the coming days with an updated Net Zero Strategy. This should bring some clarity to the climate debate in the UK.

As Bob Ward, from the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said: “This review was set up by Liz Truss to appease a tiny lobby of Conservative MPs who have been spreading misinformation about the UK’s net zero climate target.”

These campaigns have failed and the Review has clearly set out the case that Ministers must go “further and faster” to deliver on climate goals and ensure the UK remains competitive in the clean technologies of the future.

It has been welcomed by a range of industry groups and commentators. So with this confidence, communicators must also double down on tackling misinformation and clearly communicating around climate issues.