Sunak spares public net zero pain

The Prime Minister warned of a backlash brewing against the old plan, challenging his critics to justify why families should pay as much as £15,000 “to do things that are not necessary to get us to net zero”.

“The risk here, for those of us who care about reaching net zero – as I do – is simple: If we continue down this path, we risk losing the consent of the British people,” he said.

“And the resulting backlash would not just be against specific policies but against the wider mission itself, meaning we might never achieve our goal.”

Mr Sunak said he remains committed to the target – written into law – that the UK will become a “net zero” carbon emitter by 2050 to help tackle climate change.

While he stressed that targets for reducing emissions on the way to hit that goal – which are also written in law – will remain and be achieved, he announced a number of changes to high-profile policies to help deliver net zero.

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars was due to be banned in 2030, but Mr Sunak pushed that back to 2035, the same date chosen by the European Union.

New oil boiler sales were due to be banned in 2026, a deadline now delayed until 2035. New gas boiler sales will still be banned in 2035.

However, a new exemption will be created for households where heat pumps would be ineffective, meaning that around one in five households will still be able to buy a new oil and gas boiler even after 2035. It is unclear how this will be delivered.

To encourage people to continue to install heat pumps where they can, the cash grant from the Government will rise from £5,000 to £7,500. It will not need to be repaid.

As well as ruling out a string of other proposals suggested by climate change advisers, such as a meat tax, Mr Sunak promised “comprehensive new reforms to energy infrastructure” were coming, including measures to speed up how long it takes to connect to the National Grid.