Mogg Asks Members: Should we abandon the pursuit of net zero altogether? YOUR VERDICT

Speaking at the Innovation Zero conference in London, she warned that climate policy was at “a fork in the road”.

She said: “The first path is one I do not want to take us down. It is one with an ever-increasing and narrowing set of targets, where Government dictates outputs and prices, and a net zero leviathan of central planning crushes our brilliant enterprise economy.“

“The second is where we live with some uncertainty, knowing that it is one of the key stimulants of risk and product development that competes to win over consumers.”

In an exclusive poll for GB News membership readers, an overwhelming majority (96 per cent) of the 355 voters thought we should abandon the pursuit of net zero, while just three per cent thought we should keep going. One per cent said they did not know.

Rishi Sunak has previously come under fire for watering down his net zero pledges having said that making progress towards net zero should not come at the expense of working families.

Tory backbenchers have piled further pressure on the Prime Minister by suggested that pledges should be watered down even more or scrapped altogether as they fear that pursing the plans could endanger the party at the next general election.

Coutinho continued that the second path “gives us the space to tackle our emissions” while “keeping the lights on and costs low for British families and businesses”.

She said she is “proud” of the progress the UK has already made, adding: “We are less than one per cent of global emissions, and our bigger contribution to tackling climate change will come from innovation.”

A Department of Energy source said: “Net zero is and should continue to be a great opportunity for growth.

“We have long punched above our weight for innovation and it is right we pursue an approach that backs a free market model, creates jobs and takes the public and businesses with us.”