Net Zero Festival: Amber Rudd on the politics of climate change

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd speaks to Lucy Seigle about overcoming the political barriers to climate action

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently said the answer to the net zero challenge was "not so much technical as political". Yet those political challenges are undoubtedly considerable, and could potentially derail the net zero transition altogether. So what are the main political barriers to progress and how can they be overcome?

Amber Rudd, former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, sought to explore this question and more in her keynote speech at BusinessGreen's Net Zero Festival last week. Her speech - and follow up interview with journalist Lucy Siegle - can be watched in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 29 September 2021 featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand by signing up for free on the Net Zero Festival website.

More on Politics

'This process matters': UN climate chief kicks off Bonn Climate Talks

'This process matters': UN climate chief kicks off Bonn Climate Talks

Climate adaptation, national action plans, finance roadmaps, and budget concerns top the agenda, as latest negotiations aim to lay groundwork for crucial COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil this autumn

James Murray
clock 16 June 2025 • 5 min read
'Wildly overestimated': Public thinks net zero set to cost 140 times more than CCC forecasts

'Wildly overestimated': Public thinks net zero set to cost 140 times more than CCC forecasts

Comms strategy and language tweaks can bolster enduring net zero support in response to rising cost concerns, polling suggests

Stuart Stone
clock 16 June 2025 • 5 min read
Kemi Badenoch calls for 'windfall tax' to be scrapped as oil and gas prices jump

Kemi Badenoch calls for 'windfall tax' to be scrapped as oil and gas prices jump

Tory leader drops backing for tax introduced under the last Conservative government and calls for new oil and gas licenses to be issued

Michael Holder
clock 13 June 2025 • 7 min read