RISHI Sunak was forced into making a speech yesterday because its content had already been leaked ...
To summarise that content, Sunak is rowing back on the UK’scommitments because, he says, we are already ahead of the worldwide pack on this issue. That is despite the fact that this government’s own Climate Change Committee has made it clear that existing commitments are way short of those required to achieve net-zero by 2050.
Instead, three things characterised the speech. The first was the absence of any new money to solve this crisis – a small increase in the support for those installing heat pumps apart. The second was his emphasis on the market. Apparently, consumers are to decide the pace at which climate change will be tackled. This, however, is impossible. As an example, those who buy electric vehicles are dependent upon the creation of charging networks, and ultimately those require public investment, but he is not going to provide it. The consumer cannot decide in that case.