'100% committed': Sunak vows hit to net zero targets as he scraps key climate policies

investmentweek.co.uk:

Sunak said the changes represented the 'only realistic path to net zero'

The prime minister reiterated his support for the UK's climate targets and described the net zero transition as «the greatest opportunity and biggest achievement of our lifetime» as he took an axe to a raft of climate policies this afternoon (20 September).

In a press conference held at Number 10, Sunak confirmed reports the UK's phase out date for new internal combustion engine cars and vans would be pushed back five years to 2035, citing the need to give motorists more time to prepare for the change.

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The prime minister also revealed the government was scrapping a plan to place new requirements on property owners, which would have required rented homes to meet new energy efficiency standards from 2025. He also confirmed the government intended to exempt the most cash-strapped households from the UK's 2035 phase out of fossil gas boilers, while scrapping a plan to ban the installation of gas boilers in off-grid homes from 2026 altogether.

Despite these changes, Sunak stressed the government remained committed to the UK's legally-binding climate targets, arguing his «pragmatic, proportionate and realistic» approach would «turn the challenge of net zero into the greatest opportunity and the proudest achievement of our lifetimes».

The prime minister rejected widespread criticism that the roll back of key decarbonisation policies amounted to a watering down of the UK's climate agenda, telling journalists the government intended to meet all its emissions reduction goals.

«We remain completely, 100% committed to all our targets,» he said. «Not just are we committed to