On Tuesday 9 December 2025, Stu Peters MHK will ask Tynwald to vote on whether to hold a referendum for the public to decide “to abandon or to continue with the policy of achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions as laid out within the Climate Change Act 2021”.
The Isle of Man Green Party strongly opposes holding a referendum on abandoning the Island’s net-zero policy.
As a fundamental component of the Climate Change Act 2021, the net-zero target gives clear direction to government departments, public bodies, local authorities and businesses. It creates the expectations, targets and planning cycles that keep the island moving towards a better future for us all. Without this clear direction, we lose the opportunity to take advantage of the transition to a cleaner, cheaper, more efficient energy, transport and heating systems.
No one claims the Isle of Man can change the global climate – but we can choose whether we’re prepared for the world we’re already living in.
Delaying the preventative and adaptive action that our net-zero targets provide carries significant monetary, wellbeing and reputational costs, as well as many opportunity costs, for our island. In the last year alone, funds over £1 million have had to be dedicated in the Isle of Man for the clean up from storms Darrah and Eowyn alone.
Without net-zero targets, infrastructure becomes more expensive to protect
Flooding, coastal erosion and heavy rain already put pressure on Manx roads, drainage, sea defences and public buildings. The Isle of Man is not immune to the impacts of a warming world, where rainfall and storms will become more frequent and more intense.
Without a clear policy driving long-term planning and upgrades, repairs become reactive and more expensive, stretching public finances further.
Without net-zero targets, energy bills stay higher for longer
While the Isle of Man Government is taking strides to decarbonise our electricity, with proposals for on and offshore wind amongst the plans, we are still currently dependent on imported fossil fuels. Up to December 2024, 82% of the electricity in the Isle of Man was produced from burning gas in the Pulrose power station. A highly polluting form of electricity generation.
When global prices jump, like has been the case with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Manx households and businesses feel it in their pocket with rampant and punitive inflation. As fossil fuel demand continues to decline around the world, this price volatility is only going to accelerate.
Net-zero policy supports the shift toward generating more of our own renewable energy, opening the door to cleaner and cheaper energy over which the island has greater control for long-term energy security. Without that direction, we remain exposed to international markets we cannot influence.
Without net-zero targets, housing standards lag behind
Warmer homes that are cheaper to run come from tightening standards, improving energy performance and modernising heating systems. These improvements are tied to the island’s net-zero planning.
Without the policy, there is no long-term roadmap pushing this forward, and problems like damp, cold homes and high heating costs persist. It also drives the improvement of insulation and building efficiency, reducing overall demand. Pausing this work leaves people tied to price swings, inefficient homes and less secure energy supply.
Without net-zero targets, vulnerable households are hit hardest
Climate-related pressures are always felt first by those with the least room to absorb them.
Rising energy costs, poor housing conditions and infrastructure failures all land hardest on lower-income families and older residents. The Island's net-zero policy requires that changes happens in a fair and just manner.
Without it, support becomes optional rather than embedded and society is forced to adapt to the whim of the powerful few, with Manx households less able to cushion financial burden simply getting left behind.
Without net-zero targets, The Island’s reputation is at risk
Our net-zero policy provides certainty about the island’s direction. Removing it signals uncertainty. For a small island that relies on its reputation — for its environment, its stability, its Biosphere identity and its attractiveness to business — that uncertainty is a real risk. It makes long-term investment less likely and undermines confidence in our planning.
A successful referendum to abolish the island’s net-zero policy would also carry wider constitutional and legal risks. Any move to overturn the island’s net-zero direction would ultimately require changes to primary legislation, including the Climate Change Act. Such changes require Royal Assent. Because the UK holds ultimate responsibility for good governance of the Isle of Man — and extended the Paris Agreement to the island on the basis of the responsible steps the Isle of Man had taken, such as the introduction of the Climate Change Act — it is not guaranteed that approval would be granted.
There is also a risk of breaching human rights obligations. The recent KlimaSeniorinnen judgment under the European Convention on Human Rights makes clear that governments have duties to protect citizens from the impacts of climate change. Weakening climate policy may place the island at odds with these evolving standards.
Abolishing the policy would deliberately anchor the Isle of Man to the past, leaving us trailing a global transition toward cheaper, cleaner and more efficient renewable energy, low‑carbon heating and modern transport systems. While other countries accelerate, we would be choosing to fall behind.
To conclude
The net-zero policy provides the framework that keeps the island on a clear, stable path toward a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient future.
The Island's net zero policy is not a virtue signalling global gesture, it’s a local shield. It's about protecting Manx households from the impacts of climate change while securing our future with cleaner, cheaper energy.
Removing that policy would leave the island without direction at the very moment it matters most. It would drive up future costs, weaken our resilience and limit our ability to protect households, infrastructure and our natural environment from changes that are already unfolding.
The Isle of Man Green Party believes the responsible and forward-looking choice is not just to maintain our net-zero policy but to strengthen it, ensuring stability and opportunity for the Island and our natural environment in the years ahead.