ClimatePolitics

Factcheck: UK Conservatives double the ‘cost of net-zero’ after spreadsheet blunder

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 21/10/2026, 11:50:25 UTC.

Briefings

A UK Conservative party booklet incorrectly claims the cost of net-zero is nearly £1tn, based on a spreadsheet error by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The error stems from double-counting CAPEX and OPEX figures from the CCC's 2020 advice, which originally totaled £478bn. The booklet cites a 2020 figure of £957bn, which is exactly double the correct £478bn. While the CCC later revised estimates to £108bn in 2025, the erroneous claim persists in the booklet. The source material is a 2026 Carbon Brief article and related reports, with no additional background context provided.

Key points

• The Conservative party's 'Right Way' document incorrectly claims the cost of net-zero is nearly £1tn, citing a 2020 CCC figure of £957bn.
• The actual 2020 CCC estimate was £478bn, which was exactly half the erroneous £957bn figure due to double-counting CAPEX and OPEX in the spreadsheet.

Context

The finding matters because it highlights a significant misinformation risk in UK policy communication, where a spreadsheet error by the CCC was amplified by the Conservative party and other think tanks. The error originated from a 2020 CCC spreadsheet that double-counted investment figures, leading to a £957bn claim that is half the correct value.

Limitations

The evidence is limited to a 2026 Carbon Brief article and related reports. The CCC's 2020 advice is the primary source for the erroneous figure, but the specific spreadsheet used by the erroneous calculation is not fully detailed in the provided text. The CCC later revised estimates to £108bn in 2025, but the erroneous £957bn figure remains unverified against the latest data.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 24/10/2026, 05:50:32 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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