Question Time audience challenges panel over pace of net zero and energy costs

On BBC One West's Question Time, Jensen Wilkinson asked how fast the UK should move towards net zero given what he called the looming climate emergency. When the host asked whether he wanted faster or slower action, he said faster.

On the BBC One West programme, Emma defended the government's record. She said it had set up Great British Energy and was driving offshore and onshore wind, and that renewables now made up a larger share of UK energy. She said fossil fuels still had a role because of energy security and because many homes still use gas, and she cited the Energy Secretary's decision to pass Jackdaw.

Zia told the same audience that net zero policies had given Britain 'the highest energy costs in the world'. He said the grid was not ready for more renewables and called for more nuclear and base load capacity. He said Reform would scrap net zero subsidies, and described families choosing between Christmas gifts and energy arrears.

James said high UK energy costs were a serious barrier for manufacturers and should be the top priority ahead of net zero. He criticised restrictions on North Sea oil and gas while the UK imports foreign supplies, and asked whether Rosebank would be approved. A panellist said John Healey had announced an end to the Tory habit of putting levies on bills.

Daisy told the BBC One West audience that the cost of inaction was far greater than the cost of action. She cited summer heatwaves, wildfires and drought, and said Labour had blocked a Liberal Democrat climate and nature emergency bill. She said the UK could still make a difference even though it produces less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and called for clean renewable investment, breaking the link between gas and electricity prices, and community networks to build out the grid.

Alastair raised young people's wellbeing and their fear of existential threat. He criticised Donald Trump, Zia and Nigel Farage for treating climate policy as a show of virility, and said the climate crisis was real. He warned that climate refugees would become a bigger issue.

Audience members on the BBC One West programme pushed back on the panel. One said they could not believe that after the summer, panellists were talking about scrapping net zero. A food manufacturing plant owner said a bakery cannot simply shift away from gas and electricity, and that energy costs were having a horrendous effect on the cost of living. Another audience member said climate tipping points were approaching and accused politicians of a lack of leadership, leaving individuals to carry the burden.