Labour has pledged to undo Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent policy changes on climate initiatives if they secure victory at the next general election.
Yesterday, the party committed to reinstating the 2030 deadline for the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales if they secure victory in the next election, according to Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary.
Mr. Sunak has drawn scrutiny for his decision to backtrack on green commitments, designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The alterations include postponing the ban on new petrol and diesel cars until 2035, scaling back the plan to phase out gas boilers by 2035, and eliminating the requirement for energy efficiency upgrades to homes.
Labour remains committed to phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030 and has signalled a sharp disagreement with some of Mr. Sunak’s key policy changes.
The commitment sets the stage for a significant policy divide between the two major parties during the election campaign.
Labour to Go ‘Toe to Toe’ With Tories
Speaking at an event yesterday, Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for energy security in the Labour Party, expressed his eagerness to go “toe to toe” in debate with the Tories on net-zero policies during the upcoming cycle.
The Labour Party, currently leading significantly in opinion polls over Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party, criticised the weakening of environmental commitments, asserting that it would result in long-term costs for the public.
Sir Keir Starmer’s outfit also accused the prime minister of forfeiting the potential for job growth associated with the pursuit of net-zero goals. Similar criticisms have been voiced by prominent figures within the Conservative Party, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
However, Sir Keir did not directly address this announcement himself, or openly critique the prime minister’s speech. Instead, he shared a message via X (formerly Twitter) emphasising the need for leadership to secure Britain’s future and promote economic growth.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Mr. Reed expressed concerns over the potential delay of the 2030 ban on internal combustion engine vehicles, stating that car manufacturers have been preparing for this transition by shifting their production focus toward electric vehicles.
He cautioned that such a delay could discourage the essential inward investment required to boost the sector and argued that it would make “everybody a loser.”
Mr. Reed said: “If we still allow petrol vehicles to be sold at that point we’re not going to hit our net zero targets for the 2030s.
“That means we’ll miss the net targets for 2050, by which we’re supposed to have a fully carbon-free economy. But worse than that we would deter inward investment we need to really turbocharge that sector of the economy, which is where the big new jobs of the future will be.
“Britain could lead the world in this, but the government’s decided to throw that out of the window, and it will actually cost British consumers more because it costs more to fill up a car with petrol than it would be to power with electricity.
“So everyone is a loser from what Rishi Sunak has announced.”
PM Reiterates Commitment
Mr. Sunak reiterated his confidence in the UK’s ability to meet both international and domestic environmental targets despite recent policy changes.During a visit to farming apprentices in Essex, Mr. Sunak pointed to the country’s track record of surpassing carbon budgets and the rapid cost reduction of green technologies such as offshore wind and electric vehicles.
He expressed confidence that the nation could achieve net-zero emissions in a more reasonable and practical manner while still meeting its obligations.
Speaking to assembled media, Mr. Sunak said: “The reason I have confidence in that is because we’ve over-delivered on all of our carbon budgets to date …
“Plus, we can see that the cost of some of these new technologies is falling far faster than people had predicted. Offshore wind is a great example of that, costs today 70 percent less than we predicted in 2016.
“And the adoption of new technologies is happening far faster than we thought, electric vehicles being another good example.
“So, when you put all of that together, run the numbers as we have, we’re confident we’re on track to deliver net zero and we can do it now in a more proportionate and pragmatic way.”
Yesterday, Nigel Farage branded the prime minister’s announcement as “a much-needed outbreak of commonsense,” while Tory policymakers were split in their reactions to the u-turn from Number 10.
