A flagship Conservative party conference policy document, 'The Right Way', reportedly overestimated the cost of achieving net zero by nearly £500bn. The document, produced for the Conservative conference in Birmingham, appears to have double-counted figures on a spreadsheet.
The policy document, which Kemi Badenoch repeatedly referenced in her main speech, cited an estimate of £957bn for the cost of net zero. This figure was attributed to the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and its Sixth Carbon Budget. However, the CCC's report actually totals £478bn, half of the amount stated in the Conservative document.
The error seems to have occurred because a tally of costs in a CCC spreadsheet from the document included the row showing totals for each individual column, effectively doubling the figure. A CCC spokesperson stated, "We don’t recognise this number," and reiterated an offer to meet with Ms Badenoch to discuss their advice. The CCC's most recent analysis estimates the cost of achieving net zero by 2050 at approximately £110bn, or about £4bn annually.