Rishi Sunak is thinking about weakening some of the government’s key green commitments in a major policy shift.
According to The Times:
Rishi Sunak is poised to water down some of the government’s biggest net zero commitments, including plans to phase out the installation of new gas boilers and delaying a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars.
The prime minister will this week announce that the government is abandoning its ambition to ban new gas boilers from 2035, arguing that an arbitrary deadline would impose unnecessary costs on households.
He will also delay the planned ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 after criticism from some Conservative backbenchers and parts of the car industry.
Sunak is also likely to confirm a series of other retreats from net zero, including ditching tougher energy efficiency rules for landlords and delaying a ban on oil boilers off the gas grid.
He will pledge that his party will not impose taxes on flying but will examine recycling schemes that could lead to households having to sort their waste into as many as seven bins. He will also pledge not to introduce any policy that encourage consumers to change diets and eat less red meat.
Sunak said last night that he wanted to reach Britain’s net zero target in a “better, more proportionate way”. In an apparent swipe at Boris Johnson, his predecessor, he said that “governments of all stripes” had failed to be “honest about costs and trade-offs”.
He said: “I know people are frustrated with politics and want real change. Our political system rewards short-term decision-making that is holding our country back. For too many years politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs. Instead they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all.
“This realism doesn’t mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change. We are committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements we have made internationally — but doing so in a better, more proportionate way.”
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the govermment wouldn’t “save the planet by bankrupting the British people.”
