Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been widely attacked for pushing a government anti-green drive that includes delaying legally-binding UK climate targets and cutting green taxes.
Sunak has proposed to delay the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 57% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels to 2033. Environmentalists have warned that this delay poses a “massive risk” to UK efforts to meet its international commitments on climate change.
The government has also moved to slash green taxes. It is proposing a freeze on fuel duty for 2020-21, a move that will cost the treasury an estimated £750m a year. This has been criticised as a “short-termist” approach that fails to incentivise behaviour change and improvement of green infrastructure.
local NGOs,Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also condemned the plans, describing the proposed delays as “reckless” and “short-sighted”.
It is alarming that Rishi Sunak’s government has chosen to reverse much-needed policies designed to ensure that the UK meets its climate change commitments in the long run. Deferring the greenhouse gas emission targets is a huge risk and reducing green taxes is a backwards step in the fight against climate change. The government must do more to ensure that green policies are given proper consideration, and that the necessary steps are taken to ensure progress towards a zero-carbon future.
