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Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has dismayed green Conservatives by declaring the UK’s target to reach net zero by 2050 “impossible”.

In a speech on Tuesday, the Conservative Party leader is expected to tell what she says is the “unvarnished truth” that the net zero goal cannot be achieved without “a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us”.

Ms Badenoch will say she is not making a “moral judgement” on net zero or debating whether climate change exists.

But, as she begins to renew party policy, she will say that current climate policies are “largely failing” to improve nature and “driving up the cost of energy”.

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Net zero means cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, which cause climate change, to virtually zero, and absorbing the rest elsewhere.

Scientists say the world must reach that point by 2050 to avoid even worse flooding, wildfires, and other damage – but that action is lagging behind.

The UK has already cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half.

The next half is expected to be more challenging as it requires changes to people’s heating, cars and diet – things that often need upfront costs, but could save people money in the long run with the right government support, advisers have said.

Ms Badenoch’s plans take the Conservative Party to its most sceptical position on net zero yet – a target set in law by Tory Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.

And it comes at a time when Reform UK is questioning climate science and US President Donald Trump, leader of the second most polluting country in the world, is dismantling nature protections.

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Kemi Badenoch heckled by climate protesters on Monday

Ms Badenoch’s “policy renewal” she is outlining on Tuesday will see shadow cabinet members set core priority questions as a move towards formulating new policy for the party.

Sam Hall, of the Conservative Environment Network of 50 MPs, said it was “a mistake” for Ms Badenoch to have “jumped the gun on her own policy review and decided net zero isn’t possible by 2050”.

He said the Tory leader was right to question Labour’s climate plans, but that the target is driven “not by optimism but by scientific reality; without it climate change impacts and costs will continue to worsen”.

Abandoning the science would risk losing voter’s support, he added.

This may be an inflection point for goodwill towards climate action in Tory Party

The UK public has long been supportive of government climate action – that’s true across voters of different parties too.

Labour capitalised on this in last year’s general election and swooped to victory with a green mandate.

Rishi Sunak’s attempts to roll back some climate policies flopped, and polling by More In Common found Labour’s arguments that clean power and climate action are the best way to tackle the cost of living cut through with people. For now, at least.

The tide of climate scepticism has been rising since Sunak’s days, with Reform UK questioning climate science altogether and Kemi Badenoch now calling the 2050 target “impossible” – though she did stress she doesn’t want to dismantle it and that she does believe in climate change. And she’s not wrong that it is going to be hard.

Given the strong public support for climate action, it’s not surprising Sunak’s attempt to politicise the issue didn’t work out for him.

But now others following in his footsteps have been emboldened by US President Donald Trump. Their attacks are gathering speed – and they might start to take root.

This may be an inflection point for goodwill towards climate action in the Conservative Party – which has a long legacy of supporting it – and more broadly in the UK.

Labour cannot take public support for its net zero plans for granted at a time when political consensus on it is fracturing.

And given the next stage of the country’s climate action is about to get more disruptive for people, it is just when it needs this public support more than ever.

Four in five Conservative voters in last year’s general election and two thirds of Reform voters thought it was important that the government cared about tackling climate change, according to polling by More in Common.

Shaun Spiers, executive director of thinktank Green Alliance, called it “disappointing” to see Ms Badenoch “turn her back on cleaner, cheaper, homegrown energy”.

“It is even more disappointing to see the leader of the opposition take cues from climate deniers across the pond,” he added, in a veiled swipe at President Trump.

“Net zero is not ‘nice-to-have’, it’s an achievable, evidence-based target designed to protect the UK from the worst impacts of climate change.”

The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises governments on how to reach net zero, said last month the goal is “ambitious” but “deliverable”.

But it also warned as Labour took office last summer that, at that time, just one third of the cuts to greenhouse gases needed to reach an interim 2030 target were covered by a “credible plan”.

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83% of institutions plan to up crypto allocations in 2025: Coinbase

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83% of institutions plan to up crypto allocations in 2025: Coinbase

83% of institutions plan to up crypto allocations in 2025: Coinbase

Institutional investors are increasingly bullish on cryptocurrency, with 83% saying they plan to up crypto allocations in 2025, according to a March 18 report by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon. 

Already, nearly three-quarters of firms surveyed said they hold cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), and a “significant majority” said they plan to boost crypto allocations to 5% or more of their portfolios, the report said

They are motivated by the view that “cryptocurrencies represent the best opportunity to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over the next three years,” according to the report.

Coinbase, the US’ largest crypto exchange, and EY-Parthenon, a consultancy, based the findings on interviews with more than 350 institutional investors in January. 

Among institutional altcoin holdings, XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) are the most popular, the survey found. 

83% of institutions plan to up crypto allocations in 2025: Coinbase

Coinbase and EY-Parthenon surveyed more than 350 financial institutions on crypto. Source: Coinbase

Related: Stablecoin adoption, ETFs to propel crypto performance in 2025: Citi

Altcoin ETFs incoming

Altcoin holdings could rise even further if US regulators approve planned exchange-traded fund (ETF) listings this year.

Asset managers are awaiting a greenlight from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list more than a dozen proposed altcoin ETFs. 

Litecoin (LTC), SOL and XRP are seen as the most likely to see near-term approval, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. 

On March 17, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, the largest US derivatives exchange by volume, launched futures contracts tied to SOL, marking a significant step toward institutional adoption of the altcoin. 

Stablecoins and DeFi take off

Meanwhile, stablecoins continue to see institutional uptake, with 84% of respondents either holding stablecoins or exploring doing so, the survey found. 

According to the report, institutions are using “stablecoins for a variety of use cases beyond just facilitating crypto transactions, including generating yield (73%), foreign exchange (69%), internal cash management (68%), and external payments (63%).”

In December, investment bank Citi said stablecoin adoption will accelerate onchain activity, including in decentralized finance (DeFi). 

The survey found that only 24% of institutional investors currently use DeFi platforms, but that figure is expected to grow to nearly 75% in the next two years. 

“Institutions are attracted to DeFi for myriad reasons, citing derivatives, staking, and lending as the use cases they are most interested in, followed closely by access to altcoins, crossborder settlements, and yield farming,” the report said.

Magazine: Bitcoin dominance will fall in 2025: Benjamin Cowen, X Hall of Flame

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Eliminating archaic payments systems with stablecoins

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Eliminating archaic payments systems with stablecoins

Eliminating archaic payments systems with stablecoins

Opinion by: Simon McLoughlin, CEO at Uphold

2021 witnessed a fintech investment boom, with startups raising approximately $229 billion globally. Higher interest rates and tighter economic circumstances have since tempered that exuberance, but funds continue to pile into the sector. Indeed, the global fintech sector is expected to see a rebound in investment activity throughout 2025.

Why are investors continuing to bet big on this sector? The answer is simple. The current international finance system is in urgent need of modernization. Built for a pre-internet age, it relies on outdated processes, chains of intermediaries and a patchwork of non-standard regulations. 

An aging and expensive system

Take SWIFT as a case in point. Founded in 1973, SWIFT remains the backbone of cross-border payments. SWIFT is nothing more than a messaging system that enables banks to communicate around transactions. It was never designed to manage funds or process transactions. As a result, a “make do and mend” approach has grown around international payments, characterized by a proliferation of intermediaries and local payment rails.

This antiquated, fragmented system creates significant friction in cross-border transactions, leading to delays, high costs and limited choice for individuals and businesses outside major economic blocs. Fees for international payments currently average 1.5% for businesses and all the way up to 6.3% for remittances. Payments can take up to several days to reach recipients.

This system hinders global commerce and exacerbates financial exclusion, particularly in the global south, where volatile local currencies and limited access to traditional banking services are common.

Many of these friction points could be resolved by stablecoins, making transferring money across borders as easy as sending an email. Indeed, the blockchain-based currency has the potential to revolutionize global finance. 

Democratizing access to fiat currencies

For people in countries with volatile economies or unstable governments, stablecoins offer a safe haven for savings. Stablecoins pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency such as the US dollar provide consumers in these regions with a way to escape their national financial system with a trustworthy and transparent alternative that protects them from inflation and currency devaluation. This is particularly important in the global south, where economic instability can erode the value of hard-earned income and savings. 

According to UBS, consumers in developing countries are also attracted to stablecoins due to the lower risk of government interference with the currency. The wealth management firm believes stablecoins are increasingly seen as “digital dollars” and used for everything from savings to transactions to remittances in these regions. 

Empowering small businesses and freelancers

Stablecoins can significantly reduce the costs and complexities associated with international payments, enabling small businesses and freelancers to participate in the global marketplace on a more level playing field. This opens up new opportunities for entrepreneurship and economic growth in developing countries.

Recent: Dubai recognizes USDC, EURC as first stablecoins under token regime

In our current payment system, physical money does not cross borders — only information does. A payroll company looking to pay a freelancer in a third country cannot do so directly and must use systems like Stripe, which uses virtual bank accounts to get around the problem.

With stablecoins, payroll companies can pay in any currency to any currency, using crypto on- and off-ramps to facilitate the payment. The business pays in dollars, for example, which is on-ramped to Tether’s USDt (USDT) and sent to the freelancer’s digital wallet, where they can either keep it or off-ramp it to their local currency. Stablecoins will prove to be, and are, a vital tool in helping businesses access global talent and fill their skills gaps. 

Facilitating financial inclusion

Through offering an alternative to traditional banking systems, stablecoins also provide financial services to the unbanked and underbanked populations. This can be particularly transformative in regions with limited access to traditional financial infrastructure or in countries like Argentina, where there is low confidence in the national monetary system. 

According to the Bank for International Settlements, stablecoins can enable a wide range of payments and provide a gateway to other financial services, replicating the role of transaction accounts as a stepping stone to broader financial inclusion. 

Given their ability to provide access to financial services anywhere with an internet connection, stablecoins are seeing explosive growth in emerging markets. Use cases are expanding rapidly across Africa, Latin America, and parts of developing Asia, where they are being used to hedge against inflation, for remittances and cross-border payments, and as a simpler alternative to US dollar banking. This growth trajectory can be expected to continue in the years ahead. 

A shot in the arm for global business

Stablecoins are rapidly rising in popularity and already total more than $233 billion in market capitalization, while transaction volumes in 2024 reached $15.6 trillion, surpassing those of Visa. In an increasingly uncertain world, they offer a stable, low-cost and rapid means of transferring money across borders, helping to increase financial inclusion and smooth access to global talent for employers. Stablecoins are a digital-first financial tool for a digital-first world and are ideally suited to replacing the current archaic international payments system. 

Opinion by: Simon McLoughlin, CEO at Uphold

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Coinbase stock may rally to $310 on Trump-led crypto policies

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Coinbase stock may rally to 0 on Trump-led crypto policies

Coinbase stock may rally to 0 on Trump-led crypto policies

Coinbase exchange’s stock price has received an optimistic price prediction from a Bernstein analyst, citing improving crypto regulatory clarity in the world’s largest economy.

Gautam Chhugani, an analyst at global asset management firm Bernstein, initiated coverage of Nasdaq-listed Coinbase (COIN) stock with an outperform rating and a price target of over $310.

The analyst expects improving mainstream cryptocurrency adoption, driven by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which intends to make crypto policy a national priority and make the US a global hub for blockchain innovation, according to a Bernstein research note seen by Tipranks

If Coinbase shares manage to rise to $310, it would mean an over 64% rally from the current $188 mark, Google Finance data shows.

Coinbase stock may rally to $310 on Trump-led crypto policies

COIN/USD, all-time chart. Source: Google Finance

The bullish price prediction comes over a week after Trump hosted the first White House Crypto Summit on March 7, shortly before he signed an executive order that outlined a plan to create a Bitcoin reserve using cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases, Cointelegraph reported.

Related: Bitcoin beats global assets post-Trump election, despite BTC correction

Coinbase stock may surge on improving crypto regulatory clarity in the US

Coinbase is set to benefit from crypto’s “ascendancy to the US financial mainstream” amid improving regulations, mainly due to the firm offering a one-stop platform for numerous crypto activities, wrote the research note, adding:

“COIN is described as a crypto exchange, but it is actually what a universal Bank would look like in the world of blockchain-based financial services.”

“COIN offers an exchange, broker/dealer, institutional prime desk, stablecoin banking, crypto payments, custodian bank, software and blockchain ecosystem services, all combined into a full stack ‘Amazon’ of crypto financial services,” added the report.

Related: FDIC resists transparency on Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Coinbase CLO

Crypto regulation is heading in a positive direction, with some analysts seeing the US Bitcoin reserve plan as the first “real step” for Bitcoin’s integration into the global financial system.

“The US has taken its first real step toward integrating Bitcoin into the fabric of global finance, acknowledging its role as a foundational asset for a more stable and sound monetary system,” Joe Burnett, head of market research at Unchained, told Cointelegraph.

While Trump has previously highlighted his intentions to bolster crypto innovation in the US, issuing regulatory frameworks takes time and setting the “right regulatory tone” will be crucial for the administration, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of Fideum — a regulatory and blockchain infrastructure firm focused on institutions.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

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