<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/rishi-sunak-confirms-rollback-of-key-green-targets>
"Rishi Sunak has announced a major U-turn on the government’s climate
commitments as he promised to put his party on a more radical path in an
attempt to close the gap with Labour before the next general election.
In one of his biggest policy changes since taking office, Sunak confirmed the
UK would push back the deadline for selling new petrol and diesel cars and the
phasing out of gas boilers, prompting furious condemnation from the automobile
and energy industries.
Some senior Tories, led by Boris Johnson, criticised the move, with the former
prime minister warning his successor that he “cannot afford to falter now”
because heaping uncertainty on businesses could drive up prices for British
families.
The move was met with despair by climate scientists and environmental experts
who said it would cost consumers more in the long run and threaten the UK’s
global leadership on the issue. The former US vice-president Al Gore said Sunak
was “doing the wrong thing”.
At a Downing Street press conference, Sunak insisted his scaling down of
climate policies was “not about the politics”, even though the Conservatives’
conference slogan adorned the lectern and party insiders said the move was
about creating dividing lines with Labour.
The prime minister said he was “absolutely unequivocal” about sticking to the
commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but that he wanted to
take a “more pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach”. However, he set
out little detail on what measures he would now bring in to help meet that
target.
Environmental groups are expected to challenge in court the decision to water
down the commitments as the government has a legal obligation to set out in
detail how it will meet its 2050 target with clear carbon budgets for different
sectors."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
