'We're confident we'll reach net zero', Rishi Sunak insists amid criticism
Rishi Sunak insists has defended plans to water down several key climate change targets, as ITV News' Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports
The prime minister has insisted the government is "confident" it will reach net zero after his decision to water down a number of green pledges attracted a host of criticism.
Rishi Sunak said he will "face resistance along the way" but insisted many of the government's previous plans to tackle climate change were costly and not necessary.
"We're confident we're on track to deliver net zero and we can do it now in a more proportionate and pragmatic way," he told broadcasters on Thursday.
He added that the cost for households to make their homes more energy efficient "could have spiralled into thousands and thousands of pounds", which he said "was not right".
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the possibility of legal challenges on Thursday, Mr Sunak said: “We are absolutely confident in our position. We have been through all the numbers, we have looked at the range of policies that we have got in place.”
He added the UK had “consistently over-delivered in all our previous carbon budget”.
"The Secretary of State on behalf of the Government under the current law has an ongoing responsibility to ensure that we do have policies and proposals in place that will allow us to meet all our international and domestic obligations, which we remain committed to.
“We have absolute confidence and belief that we will hit them... We're absolutely not slowing down efforts to combat climate change."
The PM used a speech on Wednesday to weaken a host of pledges designed to help the UK achieve a net zero carbon emission economy by 2050.
The policy overhaul included pushing back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars back by five years to 2035, which received criticism from Ford who said the delay will "undermine" what manufacturers need from the government.
In defence, Mr Sunak said “multiple other car manufacturers” welcomed his net zero speech, dismissing the criticism as being based on “speculation”.
Boris Johnson refuses to respond to the prime minister's watering down of climate targets, after warning Mr Sunak 'we cannot afford to falter' on the approach to net zero
The prime minister also watered down the plan to phase out gas boilers by 2035, creating an exemption for a fifth of households to potentially never make the change to alternatives such as heat pumps.
The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) chief executive has said the UK Government seems to be slipping further off track from meeting its legally binding 2030 emissions targets following the PM's announcement.
Chris Stark said on the Today programme: "(Sunak) seemed to be cancelling a set of policies that the government hadn’t announced which is I suppose a political technique, but important to say these might be in the policy mix but they’re just suggestions and they might be needed only if it looks like the mainstream policies that would guide emissions down weren’t working."
"I worry about what the government announced yesterday because it looks like those goals will be even harder to hit with this softer package now around climate policy."
Mr Sunak, who is likely to face further questions about the repositioning during a visit in south-east England on Thursday, also scrapped the requirement of energy efficiency upgrades to homes.
"Everyone's entitled to their view... For those who disagree with me - and there are plenty of people we can see over the last day or two (that do) - they should explain to the country why it's right that ordinary families pay an extra five, ten thousand pounds," he told Nick Robinson on Thursday.
Families across the UK face 'unacceptable costs' if the government doesn't change its approach to tackling climate change, Rishi Sunak insists
He wrote in The Sun: "Hard-pressed families shouldn't have to pay an unaffordable price to reach net zero.
"That's my guiding principle when it comes to tackling climate change."
Although the prime minister insisted the changes were "not about" politics, the shift on green policies is being interpreted as a bid to create dividing lines with Labour ahead of a likely general election next year.
Ed Miliband, Labour's shadow energy security secretary, said he relished the opportunity to go "toe-to-toe" with the Tories on net zero during the election campaign.
Mr Sunak's announcements created immediate daylight between the red and the blue sides, with Sir Keir Starmer's outfit - which is well ahead of Mr Sunak's party in opinion polls - saying it remained committed to the phase out of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030.
Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said Labour's position would ensure stability for the car industry, which criticised the Prime Minister's move, as well as providing lower running costs for motorists in the long-run.
Mr Miliband said the party did not support watering down obligations on landlords to improve the energy performance of rental homes.
But he refused, during an interview with Politico, to confirm whether Labour backed the gas boiler policy change, saying a decision would be made if the party gets elected.
Mr Reed, speaking on BBC's Newsnight about the gas boiler policy, said: "Labour never subscribed to that proposal.
"It was the Conservatives that were proposing to whack them (household bills) up in the first place, they have now had to reverse."
During his speech, Mr Sunak insisted the UK was already ahead of allies in reducing emissions ahead of changes that he said would not prevent the country from hitting the 2050 target.
He argued there was a risk of losing the "consent" of the British public for net zero if "unacceptable costs" on families was pursued, forecasting that his reforms could save the average household as much as #15,000.
As well as the headline changes, the PM also claimed to have scrapped a series of "heavy-handed" incoming measures, such as a tax on meat and flying, compulsory car-sharing and forcing people to recycle in seven different bins.
Labour said the watering down of green pledges would cost the public more in the long-term and accused the Prime Minister of "selling out" the opportunity for a jobs boom on the back of striving for net zero - a criticism echoed by senior Tories, including Boris Johnson.
The former prime minister told Mr Sunak that he cannot afford to "lose our ambition for this country", as he argued policies were generating jobs and driving growth.
Kwasi Kwarteng, chancellor during Liz Truss' short-lived premiership, said there were concerns in the Tory Party that the decision to delay the ban on new diesel and petrol cars could have a detrimental impact on investment in the automotive sector.
The senior Tory MP told Newsnight: "The target 2030 has really focused the minds of manufacturers.
"That is what is accelerating and driving a lot of the transition, a lot of the change. And my worry is that, if you push that out, you are sending the wrong signal."
He also described it as "odd" that the Prime Minister had argued that previous governments had sought to get to net zero "simply by wishing it" when he had been at the "centre" of Mr Johnson's government as chancellor.
Asked whether he remembered Mr Sunak raising concerns about net zero when they were in government together, Mr Kwarteng said: "We had discussions and I think he had some doubts but in the end we all signed up to it."
Philip Dunne, Tory chairman of the Environmental Audit Select Committee, said the Prime Minister had produced a "measured and realistic response" to the net zero challenge.
He welcomed the decision to increase the boiler upgrade scheme, providing grants to replace gas boilers, by 50%, rising to #7,500.
Mr Dunne said: "The Government has clearly listened to concerns that, without Government support, some low carbon alternatives are simply too far out of reach for many at this point."
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