2023-09-21 03:24:10
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has provoked controversial reactions in politics, business and civil society with his surprising softening of his country’s climate goals. As he confirmed on Wednesday evening during a speech in London’s Downing Street, the end of new cars with combustion engines should be postponed from 2030 to 2035. Sunak also wants to put the brakes on the switch from gas and oil heating to heat pumps.
Critics warned that the move would jeopardize investments the economy had already made in switching to e-mobility. Car manufacturer Ford accused Sunak of disregarding the needs of the industry. “Our industry needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency,” the company said in a statement. Easing the ban on combustion engines would undermine all three.
Former Prime Minister and Sunak’s party colleague Boris Johnson criticized that companies should have certainty regarding the country’s climate neutrality goals. “We cannot afford to give in now,” Johnson said, according to a statement. Johnson had prescribed ambitious climate targets for his country, which his successors are now gradually abandoning. The issue is likely to play a major role at the Conservative party conference in Manchester at the beginning of October.
Sunak denied the move was primarily a response to poor poll numbers for his party, which is expected to face a general election next year. But the suspicion is that he is primarily hoping for votes with the measure.
In the victory of Sunak’s Tories in the by-election to Johnson’s former London constituency in July, the opposition to the expansion of the ULEZ low-emission zone by London Labor Mayor Sadiq Khan was considered decisive. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby also described Sunak’s speech as “the start of a very long election campaign.”
The energy policy spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, which is leading Sunak’s Conservatives by a wide margin in the polls, announced that Labor would stick to the current date for phasing out combustion engines if it wins the general election expected next year.
However, a flash poll by the opinion research institute YouGov showed that Sunak has a majority of the population on his side when it comes to postponing the phase-out of combustion engines. Accordingly, 50 percent of Brits said they supported the measure, while only 34 percent were in favor of maintaining the previous goals. 3201 adults in Great Britain were surveyed.
The move was also welcomed by Sunak’s immediate predecessor Liz Truss. She also called for the excess profits tax on oil and gas revenue and the fracking ban to be abolished in order to further reduce energy costs for consumers.
What caused astonishment was that Sunak announced that he would remove several measures that were never intended. These include alleged requirements regarding the minimum number of passengers in a car, or taxes on meat, flights or vacations. “I put them in the bin too,” said Sunak.
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