Sunak postpones UK climate commitments – 20/09/2023 – Environment

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced this Wednesday (20) the postponement of several emblematic measures of the United Kingdom’s climate policy, a decision criticized as electoral.

“I am confident that we can take a more pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach to achieving carbon neutrality, which eases the burden on workers,” Rishi Sunak said during a hastily organized press conference once his intentions were leaked to the press.

The main announcement concerns new gasoline and diesel-powered cars, which will now be banned from sale in 2035, not 2030.

With this measure, the United Kingdom is “aligning its approach” with the timetable envisaged in the European Union or other countries, Sunak said, in the face of criticism from the automotive sector.

Another announcement was the relaxation of conditions for the gradual elimination of gas boilers from 2035, and the abandonment of a measure on the energy efficiency of homes, which provided for intense restrictions on homeowners.

The climate ambitions of the United Kingdom, which aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, have been affected by the purchasing power crisis affecting the British and the possible electoral repercussions for the Conservative party.

Sunak had already caused a stir in July by promising hundreds of new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

In June, the independent body responsible for advising Downing Street on its climate policies lamented the “worrying slowness” of the country’s transition, particularly in meeting legally binding 2030 targets.

“We cannot now allow ourselves to weaken or lose in any way our ambition for this country,” said former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has set a target for the end of petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

In turn, the Association of Car Manufacturers and Sellers (SMMT) denounced the “confusion” and “uncertainty” generated by this decision, and the NGO Greenpeace stated that “under the Conservative government, the United Kingdom went from being a leader to being a leader in climate change.”