History will judge the prime minister harshly for abandoning urgency over the climate emergency
The climate emergency is not a priority for Rishi Sunak. Britain is committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but the prime minister is focused on a closer horizon. The environment does not feature among the five pledges on which he asks to be judged at the next election. Ministers take their lead from Downing Street, rationing their urgency for things that are likely to be noticed by the boss. And so, with grim inevitability, environmental policy has slid down the agenda. Britain, having been a leader in the field, is becoming a slacker. That is the conclusion of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the panel of experts that advises government and monitors progress towards lower carbon emissions.
The CCC’s latest report, published on Wednesday, describes a pattern of failure across a range of fields, from home insulation and electric vehicle charging to renewable power generation and decarbonising heavy industry. The UK has forfeited the leadership role afforded by the Cop26 presidency and missed the potentially galvanising moment presented by the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the committee’s judgment, Britain “did not embrace the rapid steps that could have been taken to reduce energy demand and grow renewable generation”, but has instead “backtracked on fossil fuel commitments”, with consent given for a new coal mine and new licences for North Sea oil and gas production.
