The new announcements of the British conservative prime minister did not concern measures to support the violently impoverished households in Britain and combat the unprecedented in modern history cost of living crisis.
These announcements involved the review and postponement of major “green” policy measures, to the delight of the fossil fuel industry. Among other things, he moved the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2035 from 2030, “in line” as he said with the timetable of the EU or other countries.
It also put on hold the replacement of natural gas boilers with heat pumps. Measure, which also requires generous government subsidies…
“At least for now, you, the consumer, should make those choices and not have the government force you to,” he added, conveniently dropping the “ball” about individual responsibility.
He aimed his “arrows” at the Commission on Climate Change – a group of independent scientific advisers to the government – for… tax-inducing proposals.
For obvious reasons, she avoided referring to her recent warnings that the UK was already moving “worryingly slowly” towards carbon neutrality. Otherwise, Sunak reiterated that the ultimate goal for Britain remains to become climate neutral by 2050.
There will be no change, he insisted, even to the national interim target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 68% by 2030.
“I am categorical,” the British prime minister emphasized. “We will honor our international commitments in Paris and Glasgow to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
However, he did not explain how and at what cost, and all these announcements were wrapped in the argument that the average income of the British citizen would not be burdened.
“Dirty” tactics
In fact, the Sunak announcements represent a remarkable turnaround even in the policies of the Conservative Tories during their 13 years in government.
It was only 2020 when the then Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Johnson, promised to make his country … “Saudi Arabia of wind energy”. A year later, as “host” of the 26th UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, he touted Britain as a G7 “leader” in climate protection.
Now, Sunak says previous UK plans to cut carbon emissions were aimed at “making headlines” without being properly thought through. This is a heralded change in the environmental agenda.
It was only last July, after all, when the British Prime Minister announced from Scotland new drilling for oil and natural gas in the North Sea. Britain needs fossil fuels for the green transition, he had argued. And it is better for the country, he said, to produce them itself, instead of depending on other countries, such as warlike Russia.
But it is now, of late, that his stance has angered a significant section of the Tories.
The fact that the measures were announced in the absence of the environmentalist King Charles III (he was on an official visit to France), but also with the British Parliament having just adjourned for the annual party conferences, has caused a painful impression.
But the tactics are now sparking a new “civil war” in the divided party.
Storm of reactions
Although several ultra-conservative ministers and MPs sided with Sunak, there were many who criticized him publicly. Boris Johnson himself was the first to rush.
MP Zach Goldsmith accused the British Prime Minister – elected internally for the position and not by national polls – of having destroyed Britain’s “credibility” and called for an immediate election.
Some ministers are said to have declared “guerrilla”, threatening to vote against the plans in Parliament.
Many have rightly taken hard-line interior minister Suella Braverman’s outrageous statement in support of Sunak as an implicit admission of government incompetence and failure.
“We will not save the planet”, he stressed, “by letting Britain go bankrupt”…
But precisely this fear is now being expressed by many circles in the country. British carmakers themselves bombarded No. 10 Downing Street with warnings that new prime ministerial announcements put jobs and investment at immediate risk as the industry shifts to electric vehicle production.
Even executives from the energy industry have slammed Sunak, expressing concern about the potential undermining of investor confidence in the UK.
Already alarmed by the government’s shift to nuclear power, environmentalists and ecological organizations are now on the fence.
With the unrest becoming their new ‘bread and butter’, opposition Labor has been quick to assure that, should they win the upcoming election, they will scrap all the new measures.
Conservative Chris Skidmore – who as a former energy secretary signed the British Act to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – did not mince his words.
In the future, he said, “we will see this juncture as Sunac’s slow-motion crash.” But, in this case, he is not the only “victim”…
