What Sunak’s net zero U-turn means for the UK’s climate goals

Expert says the prime minister is ‘too complacent about the UK’s record’ on its climate goals

Britain's prime minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech during a press conference on the net-zero target (via REUTERS)

Rishi Sunak’s move to delay the 2030 ban on new gas and diesel cars has alarmed the global climate community, prompting concerns over the UK’s net-zero goals ahead of the crucial Cop28 summit.

Mr Sunak on Tuesday said the UK will stick by its net-zero commitment, but rolled back measures designed to keep the country on track to meet its climate goals by 2050.

He said these measures imposed “unacceptable costs” on ordinary people, a claim climate experts strongly refute, and said the UK will instead pursue a “pragmatic” approach to hitting the target.

“We can adopt a more pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach to meeting net zero,” Mr Sunak told a news conference, saying a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars would be pushed back from 2030 to 2035.

The move has been dubbed a U-turn on the UK’s climate action, especially the crucial net-zero pledge, which means the UK will stop adding more carbon pollution to the atmosphere than it can absorb, prompting backlash from climate groups, opposition and even members of his own party.

It also comes just two months before the crucial Cop28 summit in Dubai, where leaders will once again assemble to discuss how the world will fight the worsening climate crisis in a year marked by catastrophic temperature extremes worldwide.

Here’s what Mr Sunak’s decisions are and what they mean for the UK and the world:

What has been scrapped?

Mr Sunak pushed back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, alongside a 50 per cent increase in cash incentives to replace gas boilers, and scrapped a requirement for landlords to make properties more energy efficient.

He also rejected environmental proposals including new aviation taxes, measures to encourage car-pooling and taxes on meat – none of which have actually been introduced so far but were part of the proposals on how the UK can reduce its emissions to be in line with its net-zero pledge.

Why the U-turn?

The decision to roll back the key green pledges comes as the UK suffers under a cost-of-living crisis.

It also comes ahead of the election next year as the Tories face reduced popularity ratings.

But Conservative lawmaker Alok Sharma, who chaired the Cop26 international climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, warned it would be “incredibly damaging... if the political consensus that we have forged in our country on the environment and climate action is fractured”.

“And frankly, I really do not believe that it’s going to help any political party electorally which chooses to go down this path,” he told the BBC.

Will this impact consumers’ bills?

While Mr Sunak said his decision aims to cut down “unfair costs”, experts say the move not just delayed the progress towards net zero, but also sent mixed signals to businesses that planned to invest in green technologies to be in line with the government’s plans, experts said.

“Reaching our net-zero targets won’t be easy in the short-term, but the transformation of our energy system to one that is sustainable and resilient will do more than just tackle climate change: it’s a whole system transformation that will deliver economic opportunity and societal benefits to people both locally and nationally, from creating skilled jobs across generations to health benefits – warmer housing can prevent 35,000 excess deaths in winter each year,” said Christopher Knibb, director of policy at the IET.

“We need to stop seeing the targets as a burden and start seeing the opportunity of wider benefits to society and the economy,” he said.

Greenpeace UK executive director Will McCallum said Mr Sunak “isn’t offering working people honesty or a brighter future – he’s putting his oil and gas cronies first once again”.

When will UK hit net zero?

The UK has set a target to reach the net zero of carbon neutrality by 2050. This means the country has to continue to reduce its carbon pollution with short-term targets so that by 2050 it will not add any more planet-heating carbon to the atmosphere than it can clean off.

Mr Sunak claimed the UK is “a world leader in reaching net zero by 2050” while announcing the changes. However, the government’s recent moves have threatened this goal.

While the UK managed to reduce its carbon emissions by 48.7 per cent up to the end of 2022 compared to 1990, excluding international aviation and shipping, there have already been concerns this progress is beginning to falter, according to government data.

The government’s climate advisers in June dubbed the pace of action to be “worryingly slow”.

To meet the net-zero target, the UK needs to reduce its emissions across all sectors. Some of the ways it has managed to cut down almost of its carbon emissions have been through switching to cleaner sources of electricity.

However, there are several other areas that add to a significant amount of carbon pollution that needs change to achieve more decarbonisation.

Transportation and internal heating were key areas for the country to switch to a more climate-friendly life.

The targets for the next 10 and 20 years were set in keeping this 2050 goal in line.

“The prime minister is also too complacent about the UK’s record,” said Jim Watson, professor of energy policy and director of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources.

“Whilst we have reduced emissions substantially – and led the way in some areas – we are already at risk of falling behind, and failing to meet future targets,” he said.

Earlier announcements from the UK government, such as the greenlight to more than 100 oil and gas drilling licences, have already drawn flak.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said it was not consulted ahead of the announcement, and needed to do the full calculations before determining the carbon cost.

“Today’s announcement is likely to take the UK further away from being able to meet its legal commitments,” said CCC chair Piers Forster.

“This, coupled with the recent unsuccessful offshore wind auction, gives us concern”, he said, adding that “more action is needed”.