UK PM Rishi Sunak delays crucial UK climate targets

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a delay in several crucial climate targets.
• Sunak informed reporters about the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
• He also disclosed the lifting of the ban on onshore wind projects.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a delay in several crucial climate targets, a move that has drawn criticism from businesses, and political allies, and further escalated the government’s retreat from green policies.

Sunak informed reporters that the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, originally set for 2030, will now be pushed back to 2035.

Additionally, plans to phase out gas boilers will be significantly slowed, and calls for regulations on homeowners’ energy efficiency will be rejected.

Furthermore, the prime minister reaffirmed plans to expand oil and gas activities in the North Sea, a move strongly condemned by environmental groups.

He also disclosed the lifting of the ban on onshore wind projects.

This abrupt shift in climate policy represents a departure from the long-standing political consensus on climate action, coming just two years after the UK hosted the pivotal COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

It seriously undermines efforts to portray Britain as a leader in the global fight against the climate crisis.

Sunak’s strategy appears to be centered on a controversial electoral approach, where he discards more ambitious emissions reduction policies in favor of engaging in confrontations with climate activists.

This tactic is aimed at appealing to traditional Conservative voters.

Sunak, who is striving to improve dismal polling numbers in anticipation of an upcoming election, framed these policy reversals as a “more practical, proportionate, and realistic” approach to achieving net-zero emissions.

He portrays these changes as a long-overdue adjustment to the nation’s climate policies.