The Prime Minister recently announced a ‘watering down’ of the UK’s net zero policies.

These included:

• The ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines was due to come into force in 2030, this has now been pushed back to 2035.
• Plans to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035 have changed and the new goal is to achieve an 80% phase-out.
• Homeowners and landlords will no longer have to invest in insulation to meet energy efficiency targets.

A BBC report said Mr Sunak was still committed to the UK net zero target but said the policies were being pushed back to ease the economic burden on the population at a time when many are feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis.  The net zero by 2050 target was made law in 2019. Since 1990, emissions within the UK have fallen by 48.7% up to the end of 2022, excluding aviation and shipping, greater than the other countries in the G7, mainly due to switching from fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind and solar.  Read more here.

The Government also recently announced delays to new laws which force developers to improve countryside and wildlife habitats.  Implementation was due to begin next month but a new date is now expected in the new year. The rules are designed to ‘ensure developer leae the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand’.