Back in June 2019, when Parliament passed legislation requiring the Government to reach Net Zero by 2050, it was widely welcomed across large parts of Westminster. Seven years later, it’s clear that this consensus is fracturing, with anti-net zero sentiment rising rapidly and acting as a key policy area for the likes of Reform UK to increase its support across the country.

At the heart of the issue for DESNZ is the energy policy trilemma: how to cut carbon emissions, keep energy affordable and ensure energy security. This challenge is as much about framing and messaging as it is policy. The above graph shows the total number of mentions of ‘climate change’, ‘energy cost’ and ‘energy security’ in Parliament back in 2019 compared to 2025. We can see a significant drop in mentions of ‘climate change’ by around 25% whilst ‘energy costs have increased by 2.5 times and mentions of ‘energy security’ have increased by 6 times.

With energy prices increasing, affordability has become a political pressure point. Coupled with this, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the landscape – the UK has spent tens of billions more on gas since the conflict began. As a result, messaging from the Government which prioritises long-term climate benefits without recognising the financial impact on households risks infuriating voters who are seeing increasing energy bills.

It’s clear from the graph that the shift in focus towards cost and security is not just limited to DESNZ ministers, but applies to parliamentarians across the political spectrum. MPs are facing more pressure now from their constituents when it comes to ensuring decarbonisation is affordable for the consumer whilst still ensuring energy security remains secure. 

Given this political context, ministers have begun to adapt their comms, to focus more on the benefits of clean energy in reducing the cost to the consumer and ensuring energy security. This doesn’t mean that DESNZ civil servants will be making drastic changes to their commitment to cutting carbon emissions, but does mean that ministers are starting to understand that they need to update their messaging to voters.

Organisations across the energy sector looking to engage with the Government increasingly need to ensure their arguments focus not only on cutting carbon emissions, but also on ensuring their solutions are affordable and secure.