Campaigners shocked as PM backtracks on green policies

PM Rishi Sunak

Source: CAFOD. Christian Aid

Aid and environmental agencies are expressing grave concerns today, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suddenly announced a major policy U-turn on green policies. He has delayed a ban on new fossil fuel cars by five years. He has also weakened plans to strip out polluting gas and oil boilers and scrapped policies forcing landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes.

Mr Sunak announced the plans at a Downing Street press conference this afternoon after they were leaked to the BBC. He insisted the UK was already ahead of other countries in reducing emissions and could not impose "unacceptable costs" on British families

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy at CAFOD said: "The Prime Minister cannot be serious? Not showing up at the UN summit, and now backtracking further? He is leaving the UK reputation in tatters and seems oblivious to the impact of the climate crisis.

"Claims to have 'over delivered' are laughable. The impact on people we work with is real. In East Africa we've seen the worst drought in over 40 years. Families in Pakistan have had their lives swept away by flooding. 3.3bn people are living in areas which are highly vulnerable to climate change.

"The UK should be demonstrating leadership on the world stage. Countries who caused this mess need to take responsibility. It is clear the PM is failing to deliver."

Christian Aid's Head of UK Advocacy and Campaigns, Jennifer Larbie, commented: "People on the front line of the climate crisis have been waiting decades for polluting nations like the UK to take action on climate change. And yet Rishi Sunak is preparing to water down these future targets.

"Deadlines spur action and pushing them back will see the UK heap further pain on people suffering from devastating drought in East Africa or killer storms in the Pacific. The UK has the eighth largest historical emissions in the world, that means, as a country, we have contributed more to the climate crisis than most.

"By undermining our climate commitments Sunak is showing a woeful disregard for the world's most vulnerable people. It's utterly reckless."

The Director of the Columbans, Fr John Boles, said: "The Columbans are working in countries around the world, including many on the front line of the climate crisis. I spent much of my life as a missionary priest in South America. As Director of the Columbans in Britain, and as a British citizen, I am ashamed of our government's failure to take the climate crisis seriously, weakening our progress to net zero. I ask Columban supporters and all people of good will to encourage our politicians to live up to their responsibilities, hearing and responding to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth."

The World Resources Institute report that since 2008, extreme floods and storms have forced over 20 million people from their homes every year.

The World Health Organisation states: "Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.... It is estimated that at least 15 000 people died specifically due to the heat in 2022. Among those, more than 3200 were in the United Kingdom."

EEA: over the past 40 years, "economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes in Europe reached around half a trillion euros"