(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



UK PM Rishi Sunak announces shift on climate policies, waters down targets [1]

['Jenni Reid']

Date: 2023-09-20

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media during his visit to Shell St Fergus Gas Plant in Peterhead on July 31, 2023 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said his government would take a new approach to meeting its emissions targets as he announced a delay on the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars.

The ban will move from 2030 to 2035, in a shift that was criticized earlier in the day as causing uncertainty for the automotive industry as it readies for the electric vehicle transition.

Sunak said people needed more time to make the transition away from gas boilers and that households in some areas would get a delay on existing targets for the ban on new fossil fuel boilers. He also announced a 50% increase in cash grants under the government's boiler upgrade program.

In a speech at Downing Street in which he sought to frame the new approach as in the interests of households, Sunak said he would announce a series of long-term decisions over the coming months, starting with a "new approach to one of the biggest challenges we face, climate change."

"I believe deeply that when you ask most people about climate change they want to do the right thing, they're even prepared to make sacrifices, but it cannot be right for Westminster to impose such costs on working people, especially those who are already struggling to make ends meet," he said Wednesday. He also denied watering down targets despite the pushing back of key timelines.

Sunak said the U.K. had further to go to get charging infrastructure "truly nationwide" and needed to grow the automotive industry so it wasn't reliant on imports from countries such as China.

Many of the announcements were leaked by the BBC late Tuesday, attracting widespread criticism from U.K.-based industry bodies and automakers ahead of the prime minister's speech.

Lisa Brankin, chair of Ford UK — which has committed to making the U.K. its European electric vehicle component manufacturing hub — said the 2030 target was a "vital catalyst to accelerate Ford into a cleaner future."

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/20/uk-automakers-hit-back-as-reports-say-pm-sunak-will-dilute-green-policies.html

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/