Former Tory ministers push for ‘bold and positive’ green agenda at election

Former Tory cabinet ministers have formed a group to pressure the government to improve its green policies in the hope of making it “credible” in the next general election.

Alok Sharma, the former Cop26 president, is urging Rishi Sunak to have a “bold and positive environmental agenda” in the next general election. He joins the former transport secretary Chris Grayling and Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary, in calling for more ambitious climate policies.

They will sit on the new steering committee for the Conservative Environment Network (CEN), a group of 159 Tory MPs who pressure the government to improve its green offering. The group was formed a decade ago.

The ministers will be calling for Sunak to adopt ambitious policies to unlock more onshore and offshore renewables, improve home energy efficiency, incentivise sustainable transport options, clean up rivers and seas and reward farmers for using nature-friendly practices.

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