In a hastily-arranged press conference held at Downing Street yesterday, prime minister Rishi Sunak, watered down Britain’s net zero targets in a move perceived by many as a way of clawing back public support.
Sunak pledged to scrap policies that would force landlords to upgrade energy efficiency in their homes; to discard a proposal that the government ‘should force you to have seven different bins in your home’; and, most contentiously, he confirmed that the 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars – and gas boilers – would be pushed back to 2035.
‘The government was given these dates by scientists as a point at which we would reach a tipping point in terms of the severity of climate change so it’s confusing that they have reneged on them because they weren’t supposed to be seen as optional,’ says Dr. Mya-Rose Craig, a climate activist who also campaigns for diversity within environmentalism.
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Bel Jacobs, the co-founder of the Islington Climate Centre, believes that Sunak’s newly-announced measures are a way of politicising the environment. ‘Climate change should not be political. It’s about science, it’s about saving the planet before it’s too late,’ Jacobs says. ‘Rishi has prioritised the easy short-term wins that sound good but actually in the long-term are not going to help him reach net zero.’
The political hot potato of ULEZ (the Ultra Low Emission Zone) is believed to have informed Sunak’s policy changes. The Uxbridge by-election in July, which Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell won by 495 votes after campaigning against ULEZ, proved that the collective frustration regarding the environmental measure that would limit the use of polluting vehicles, was enough to swing voters. Speaking to the BBC after the by-election defeat, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, admitted ULEZ was ‘the reason we didn't win there yesterday’, saying ‘we've all got to reflect on that, including the mayor’.
‘ULEZ is representative of how working class families in a cost-of-living crisis can get hit by some of the efforts we have to make to address climate and ecology,’ Jacobs clarifies. ‘Rishi’s sacrificing the health and wellbeing of people in the future – because ULEZ will clear up the air – for a cheap win right now.’
Sunak’s pivot defies data released by the automotive industry which confirmed that the adoption of electric cars has accelerated in recent months – they accounted for one in five cars sold in August 2023, which industry figures asserted was a response to the looming 2030 deadline. But the prime minister insisted in his announcement that the upfront cost for them was still higher than their fossil fuel equivalents. ‘It should be you the consumer that makes that choice, not the government forcing you to do it,’ he said.
As part of the policy update, Sunak also unveiled grants to help families replace oil and gas boilers, which will go up by 50% to £7,500, as well as an exemption for the homes which will most struggle to switch to heat pumps.
Jacobs and Craig are clear that the motivations of Sunak and his government are transparent. There are an estimated 1.3 million people with oil boilers, many of whom live in rural England, where the Tories have historically held strongholds. Sunak also confirmed plans in July for more than 100 such licences for North Sea oil and gas extraction, furthering Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels.
‘This is classic short-term politics, where the government is clearly trying to win votes, rather than prioritising what is best for people,’ Craig says. ‘The reality is that the people most suffering in society today from the cost-of-living crisis will also be the ones who suffer due to the adverse impact of climate change in ten years’ time.’
Other policies Sunak announced during the conference included his intention to ‘scrap’ plans to tax meat, people going on holiday and for the government to control how many people can travel in a car. Craig believes that the government is intentionally ‘fearmongering’ and ‘taking advantage of people who are economically struggling.’
Appearing on the Today programme on Thursday morning, the prime minister insisted he is confident Britain can still hit its target to reach net zero by 2030, saying ‘we’ve been through all the numbers’ and are ‘absolutely confident in our position’, an assurance Jacobs is not convinced by.
‘In order to change the tide of climate change, we have to stop using fossil fuels,’ Jacobs concedes. ‘If you look at the government’s ties and who’s funding them, it’s clear where their allegiances lie. This has been the worst government for climate protection.’
Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
