The Broken Promises of the Green Transition
A decade ago, Western governments pitched the green transition as a solution to reindustrialization and economic decline. The failure of these policies to produce well-paying jobs has triggered a right-wing backlash in both the UK and the US.
From glaziers and insulation installers to heat pump technicians, the green economy is an installation economy. Despite being labor-intensive work, it is better understood as part of the broad service sector rather than the manufacturing sector. (Andrew Aitchison / In Pictures via Getty Images)
In just over a year, the British right-wing political party Reform, led by Nigel Farage, a man who rose to prominence at the head of the campaign to push the UK out of the European Union, has surged to the top of the polls. Fueled by a pervasive sense of national decline, Reform has advanced an agenda combining anti-migrant and anti-climate sentiment that feels oddly out of place in historically climate-conscious Britain.
If elected, Reform has promised to roll back climate legislation and block the development of solar farms in constituencies that they control. Ahead of the Scottish by-election in June 2025, Farage made his pitch to voters in Trumpian terms, enjoining the nation to “Drill, Scotland, Drill.” In that same speech, he also called net-zero the next major political fault line after the vote to leave the European Union.
The political backlash has gained momentum. The Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, pledged to ditch net-zero, while the ruling Labour Party is considering weakening climate targets and green policies.
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