Boris Johnson is once again failing to lead on the biggest question of our time – the climate emergency

Editorial: It was striking and disappointing that so little of the prime minister’s address was devoted to what will still be the greatest ‘unresolved challenge’ of all

For an important speech designed to move the country into a new phase of economic recovery, Boris Johnson’s “build, build, build” address in Dudley came up short.

The prime minister was right to argue the coronavirus crisis offers an opportunity to tackle the “great unresolved challenges” of the past 30 years – building homes; the NHS; social care; the skills crisis and closing the opportunity, productivity and connectivity gaps between regions. But, answering questions from journalists, he appeared to concede that, for all his advance billing of a Rooseveltian “new deal”, his blueprint amounted to a “speeding up” of plans in the Conservative Party manifesto last December. He is, in his own words, “doubling down on levelling up”.

Given that the speech ranged across much of the government’s agenda, it was striking and disappointing that Mr Johnson devoted so little of it to what, after the health and economic emergency, will still be the greatest “unresolved challenge” of all – the climate crisis.

The word “green” was ritually inserted, with his pledge to “build back better, greener, faster”. He repeated the Tories’ promise to plant 30,000 hectares of trees. He nodded briefly to the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by pledging the UK would build the world’s first zero emission long-haul passenger plane. But he also allowed himself a characteristic sideswipe at environmental regulation, blaming the slow rate of housebuilding in the UK on “newt-counting delays” which are “a massive drag on the productivity and the prosperity of this country”.

The speech was a missed opportunity to ensure a green recovery. Mr Johnson acknowledged that many of the jobs people held before the crisis are not coming back and promised to help create “thousands of high-paid high-skilled jobs”. But he failed to make the obvious link to the huge job-creating potential of the “green industrial revolution” promised by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. The Tories might have stolen Labour’s slogan from December’s election, but have yet to put any policy flesh on the bones.

Where was the £9.2bn programme in the Tory manifesto to improve the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals? It appears to be missing in action, possibly shot down by Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s omnipresent adviser, who is said to want the money spent on housebuilding rather than “boring old housing insulation”. There is nothing boring about replacing boilers and insulating homes, which would create jobs and cut energy bills for people living in social housing.

Mr Johnson’s failure to address the climate issue is all the more surprising given the wide consensus, ranging from green groups to 200 company chief executives, for speeding up investment in low-carbon technologies and the decarbonisation of the economy. It is very odd that this is not yet included in Mr Johnson’s “Project Speed”. The danger is that, without tough low-carbon directives, “build, build, build” will lock in high-carbon infrastructure projects like £100m for 29 road schemes, offering more of the old rather than moving on to the new.

Mr Johnson promised an unashamedly interventionist approach but he has missed a trick by not requiring companies receiving government financial help to undertake to reduce their environmental impact. While he has understandably focused on the pandemic, he now needs to show more leadership on the climate ahead of next year’s crucial Cop26 talks in Glasgow. That will require much more commitment than he has shown so far; he has chaired only one meeting of the cabinet committee on climate change since supposedly taking charge of the issue last October.

We hope Mr Sunak will address the green hole at the heart of Mr Johnson’s speech when he announces measures to stimulate the economy next week. There will never be a better opportunity to deliver a “green industrial revolution” to put the UK on the road to its still uncharted net-zero destination. The Tories, and the country, cannot afford to squander it.