Higginson Strategy hosted a cross-party debate on the Blue Earth Stage at Blue Earth Summit 2026 at Woolwich Works on Thursday 15 October, raising the question to 300+ industry experts on if Net Zero has become too toxic to deliver.
Former ITV News anchor and Higginson Strategy Associate Director Cordelia Kretzschmar chaired the lively panel, which brought together two members of the cross-party Net Zero APPG. Pippa Heylings MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero and MP for South Cambridgeshire, spent 20 years working on climate and environmental policy, including as a mediator with governments and the UN. Jack Abbott MP, Labour and Co-operative MP for Ipswich, worked in the renewable energy sector before entering Parliament and chairs the Labour Party’s Energy Security and Net Zero group.
The cross-party consensus that passed the Climate Change Act in 2008 with near-unanimous support has fractured, and last month the Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee recommended that the government stop using the phrase ‘Net Zero’ altogether. The panel explored how the debate became so polarised and what politicians, business and campaigners need to do to reframe it to ensure the energy transition keeps moving.
Cordelia opened the session by putting the question directly to the audience with a show of hands, then asked it again once the panellists had made their case.
Cordelia Kretzschmar, Associate Director at Higginson Strategy, said: “After half an hour’s debate in front of an audience of 300 people, we may be no closer to actual Net Zero, but we have taken a small step forward. To begin with, I asked the audience whether the phrase ‘Net Zero’ was too toxic to be useful, and about a third of the audience put their hands up. After the debate I asked them again, and it was down to just a couple of hands in the air.
“This shows how, if you give people the opportunity to listen to the arguments in detail and get expertise in the room, it is possible to change minds.”
Cordelia would like to thank Pippa Heylings MP and Jack Abbott MP for an honest and constructive discussion, the Blue Earth Summit team for having us on the Blue Earth Stage, and everyone who joined us on the morning.
Higginson Strategy developed and delivered the session in house, from shaping the debate and cross-party speaker engagement through to chairing the discussion on the day.
Events like this work best when they give people the space to hear the arguments properly, with credible political and expert voices in the room. If your organisation wants to shape the debate on Net Zero, energy or the environment, get in touch with our public affairs and events team.