PM insists push to reduce carbon emissions must be used to ‘create jobs and opportunity’ and reduce consumer bills
Rishi Sunak has pledged not to take a “hair shirt” approach to net zero, saying green policies must not result in taxpayers “giving everything up and your bills going up”.
In his starkest comments yet on the risks of a draconian approach to meeting Britain’s climate targets, he insisted the push to reduce carbon emissions must be used to “create jobs and opportunity” and reduce consumer bills.
His latest remarks follow a significant shift in the Government’s approach to net zero in the wake of a backlash among MPs and voters over specific policies such as Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion, which are seen to punish consumers.
The change began with an interview that Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, gave to The Telegraph in July, in which he warned against treating the environment as a “religious crusade” and signalled the relaxation of measures that were “asking too much too quickly” of landlords.