Sir Ed Davey arriving by jetski and leading reluctant LibDems in a dad-dancing rendition of Sweet Caroline?

Yes, it can only be the start of party conference season.

It doesn’t seem like long since he was bungee jumping and surfing onto our screens in the General Election campaign. But now the party conferences, which began with the Liberal Democrats in Brighton this week, provide a platform for political ding-dongs over the big issues that have arisen since July and for the main parties to reaffirm their stances on their main manifesto pledges.

Pledges that include their flagship environmental commitments and intentions, although those were very much in the background on the south coast this week. Ed’s speech focused on the health service and improving lives in communities, but the conference skirted the party’s lofty ambition to achieve a net zero economy by 2045.

Boris’ legacy

The previous Government - under Boris Johnson, if you remember him - made the UK achieving net zero by 2050 a legal obligation, not just a loose desire. The nature of that commitment undoubtedly encouraged large businesses, particularly those based here, to ensure that their own emissions reduction commitments were robust and plans were in place to achieve them, and set a tone.

More recently, the drive for net zero and the pace at which the Government intends to help deliver the transition has become heavily politicised, as we’ve covered here before. As the other main party conferences run their course over the coming few weeks, corporate UK will be looking for more of a sense of how the government and those in opposition intend to stand firm - or row back - on their net zero horizons.

A political party whip round

The exchanges have already begun. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced new green foreign policy developments this week, but while underlining the commitment to make the UK the first green energy “superpower” by 2030, also made frequent use of the word “ambition”, which was seized upon as a softening environmental stance compared to “commitment”. Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the Energy UK industry conference that the government would “take on the blockers, the delayed, the obstructionists”.

Strong words there, but some softer ones too. The full agenda for the Labour conference was released this week and hints at plenty of content on the clean transition and related economic considerations. Businesses will doubtless be listening out for detail on what the Government now plans to do, rather than just repeats of previous pledges or broad ambitions.

The Conservative conference has already been predicted to be “like a wake” for businesses, with many companies likely to stay away, if you believe The Guardian. There is unlikely to be a leader’s speech. With a shadow net zero minister pending appointment once a new leader has been chosen, there’s little to expect in the way of new emissions policy pledges, ambitions or other long-term environmental aspirations.

With a recent study showing that just 65 per cent of UK firms have clear net zero targets, the hope is that Government clarity and traction on what it has already outlined will be forthcoming in the not-too-distant future. The 2030 green energy commitment is certainly one area where we can expect that.

Just don’t expect much more detail to come from any of the conferences this year, whether the figurehead arrives by jetski or not.