Boris Johnson admits he went 'far too fast' on the net-zero policy he championed as British PM

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admits that he went "far too fast" on pushing his net-zero policy when he was leading the United Kingdom, but said he was not calling for the United Kingdom to dump the policy altogether. 

Johnson set ambitious goals during his tenure for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in favor of wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy. 

The former prime minister's comments are in the upcoming book, "Prosperity Through Growth," which the Telegraph teased a preview of on Sunday. In the book, Johnson claimed that he realized his approach on net-zero needed to change when the Ukraine War broke out. 

“I think net zero, we went far too fast," he wrote. "I got carried away by the idea that sustainable and renewable forms of energy could fill the gap. When the price went up and the Ukraine thing happened, it was obvious that that wouldn’t work. And I think we did allow some more hydrocarbons but I think what you’ve got to do now is just say, you’ve got to see. You’ve got to be like St. Augustine. You’ve got to say, ‘we will be chaste, but not yet’.”

The comment comes after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the United Kingdom to abandon its net-zero plans, stating that it was doomed to fail in its current form because it was asking too much of voters. 

“Blair was completely right. It’s too expensive for ordinary people," Johnson said. "It’s too fast. But I think we should be careful about junking net zero altogether, because I think a lot of people out there do worry about the environment and don’t want to feel their government is just completely abandoning the [agenda]."

Johnson added that the government should be honest about a new approach, which should still aim for net-zero but would just take longer than anticipated to achieve.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.