Rishi Sunak vows not to add 'unnecessary' costs to meet green targets

Rishi Sunak has promised not to "unnecessarily" add costs and "hassle" to households to hit climate targets.

The prime minister said he remained committed to achieving net zero by 2050 but any new measures would have to be "proportionate and pragmatic".

Some of his MPs are demanding a rethink on green policies.

It comes after an unexpected Tory by-election win based on a campaign against the extension of London's clean-air zone.

The Conservative candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip opposed Labour mayor Sadiq Khan's plan to enlarge the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), under which owners of more polluting cars have to pay a daily charge.

Labour, which had been expected to take the outer London constituency, blamed its defeat on Ulez and suggested it could now rethink the expansion policy.

The result has reignited debates over the cost and pace of measures to reduce carbon emissions.

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Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former business secretary, has called on the government to scrap plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 and rethink new rules for energy certificates.

"The lesson from Uxbridge is that there are things we can change that will be electorally successful," he said on Sunday.

Backbench pressure

Danny Kruger, the co-leader of a new group of right-wing Tory MPs, also called over the weekend for a "rethink about the pace and the mechanism of the change we all want to see".

"We need a transition that is affordable and particularly affordable for working families, he told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour.

Asked whether he would resist backbench pressure on the issue from his MPs, Mr Sunak replied he was "standing up for the British people" at a time of rising living costs.

"That's having an impact on households' and families' bills - and I don't want to do anything to add to that, I want to make it easier," he added.

"We're going to make progress towards net zero, but we're going to do that in a proportionate and pragmatic way that doesn't unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their life."

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The comments come after other ministers suggested a change in approach on some green policies in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Housing Secretary Michael Gove said the government should relax a deadline for landlords to achieve new energy efficiency targets, adding that ministers were "asking too much too quickly".

Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he has ended government funding for low-traffic neighbourhoods, and called for councils to look again at unpopular zones in their areas.

The Times has reported that ministers are considering cutting off councils' access to the national number plate database used to enforce the schemes.

Climate 'apathy'

The newspaper also reported they are considering an "Aston Martin exemption" to the 2030 car sales deadline, under which smaller carmakers would be given longer to switch to electric vehicles.

Mr Sunak's commitment to green policies was recently questioned by Lord Zac Goldsmith, who quit as a Foreign Office Minister last month and attacked the PM's "apathy" over climate change.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Sunak said reaching net zero - no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - was "important to me".

He added that the UK should be proud of its record in this area, adding it was "better than the vast majority of other countries that we're compared to".

Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy said the Uxbridge by-election had sent a "very clear message" to Labour that the cost of living was "really biting for people".

She added that pressures on living costs had "worsened" since schemes such as Ulez were designed, adding: "We will respond to that, and will reflect on that".

"We're absolutely committed to cleaning up our air, but we've got to make sure we do this in a way that is helpful, and affordable for people who are currently are really struggling," she added.