Theresa May’s decision to abolish the department of energy and climate change in Thursday’s ministerial reshuffle has provoked angry criticism from environmental groups and some MPs. “It sends a terrible signal at the worst possible time,” said James Thornton, chief executive of the ClientEarth legal group fighting the government to improve air quality standards. “At a time when the challenge of climate change becomes ever more pressing, the government has scrapped the department devoted to tackling it.” Green Party MEP Keith Taylor said the move “looks like an act of climate sabotage” while Friends of the Earth described it as “shocking”. Mrs May has shifted responsibility for energy issues to a new Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy headed by Greg Clark, formerly secretary of state for communities and local government.