Rishi Sunak revises UK’s approach to achieving Net Zero

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pushed back the date of a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and fossil fuel boilers in a revision of the country’s Net Zero policies.

In a press conference on Wednesday 20th September, the Prime Minister reconfirmed the UK’s commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050; however, he also outlined a number of revisions to the timetable for phasing out more carbon-intensive technologies. A ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel powered cars, including hybrids, has been delayed from 2030 to 2035. A ban on the installation of fossil fuel powered home heating systems, including oil and LPG boilers and new coal heating for off-grid homes, will also be pushed back to 2035, although the maximum grant for households to upgrade to low-carbon alternatives has been raised to £7,500.

Policies forcing private sector landlords to upgrade the energy efficiencies of properties they let out have also been scrapped entirely.

Rishi Sunak also made a series of commitments not to enact higher taxes on meat, dairy and aviation or roll out complex recycling targets in England; however, none of these ideas have previously been official policy.

The Prime Minister justified the changes to the UK’s approach to Net Zero by arguing that the schemes being rolled back were to protect households from the short-term financial impact of achieving carbon neutrality amid current challenging economic conditions. He also argued that the UK’s past performance on cutting CO2 emissions made delays possible within the 2050 Net Zero target – between 1990 and 2021 the UK has seen CO2 emissions fall by 48%, a faster fall than any other G7 economy.

The rollback of commitments on achieving Net Zero has been heavily criticised, by opposition politicians, climate activists, business groups and also those within the Conservative Party: Rishi Sunak’s predecessor, Boris Johnson, originally announced the 2030 bans while in office, while the 2050 target entered the statute books under Theresa May’s premiership.

US carmaker Ford, which has manufacturing sites in the UK, is among those big businesses to have spoken out against rumours of the delay to banning petrol and diesel vehicles ahead of Wednesday’s announcements. Ford UK Chair, Lisa Brankin said:

“The UK 2030 target is a vital catalyst to accelerate Ford into a cleaner future.  Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency.  A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three.  We need the policy focus trained on bolstering the EV market in the short term and supporting consumers while headwinds are strong: infrastructure remains immature, tariffs loom and cost-of-living is high.”

Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, commented:

“Sunak is taking the public for fools. He claims he’s helping ordinary people by playing politics with the climate, but we know the real winners will be big corporations like the oil and gas lobby.

“Rowing back on home insulation and commitments to help people move away from gas will ensure we stay at the mercy of volatile fossil fuels and exploitative energy companies.

“It will also spook international investors who will be looking for genuine government commitment on the green economy, costing the UK jobs and opportunities.”