Net-zero 2050: Sunak’s wavering commitment to environmental policy
The current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has once again changed his net-zero policies to reach the same targets but the maths is not adding up. The Climate Change Committee have welcomed a few of the new changes put forth by Sunak but have warned the PM it will be much harder to achieve his goals with this change in policy and urge him to close the policy gap that will arise in the 2030s.
The Effects of Policy-Making and Change
Despite Rishi Sunak amongst polls, proving undeniably unpopular to the ordinary person, Sunak does not seem to be acting in a way that would fix this opinion of himself. The PM has implemented heavier tax burdens on the average person but not made any policy amendments to the big corporations or buildings to decarbonise them (Halpin, 2023).
The Prime Minister has stated that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will no longer end in 2030 and will be extended to 2035 whereas the plan to make landlords across the UK make more efficient energy choices within their properties, was scrapped. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) have stated that this has not been proven by the current government as being compatible with the ‘net-zero’ by 2050 pledge.
The CCC made an assessment on Sunak’s speech in September and expressed their concern for the optimism around reaching the 2050 net-zero budget, specifically their goals in the 2030’s.
Why does this matter?
Investment needs security. With changing policies and waning trust in the strength of the policies, investment is decreasing. Investors cannot trust that these policies will remain in place or if they will be further pushed back and cause a huge cost for them, therefore halting decarbonising plans.
(Hu et al., 2023) looks into policy change in environmentalism and how this may effect investment into decarbonising countries. In this work, the study was specifically based on China however, the principle is applicable to all countries. As stated in the work “government policies and regulations are the most important factors driving firms’ green investments“. For this reason, it matters greatly that Sunak would curb these goals, lowering investment from businesses and landlords.
The Independent Review of Net Zero disclaimed that sudden policy changes “reduce investor and developer confidence, increasing the cost of capital and overall cost of decarbonisation.” Manufacturers too, came forward promptly after Sunak’s speech to say they were extremely frustrated by these decisions because there would be a mass loss to profits for these manufacturers due to the insecurity into investment, as a result of Sunak’s vague stance (Serin, 2023).
Not only this but the effect on households and families is set to be an even higher burden than before. A recent analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit found that some households may be paying around £2150 more per year due to the new policy changes on net-zero targets. Food is expected to be £400 more expensive for some households due to ‘the impact of climate change and oil and gas prices on the farming and food system‘, and household bills are set to be £1750 more because of the delays by the UK government to implement solar panels, insulation and electric vehicles etc (Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, 2023).
(S2S Group, 2024)
What is a policy gap and why are the CCC concerned about this?
A policy gap is when a government have different expectations for policies than what the outcome is. However in a more specific context, this is about the gap between the experts (the CCC) and the policy-makers. There is a long-standing dichotomy between researchers and policy-makers – in this case, the CCC are predicting that Sunak’s administration will face a policy gap for the 2030s net-zero targets because their policies lack any evidence to prove they will meet the 2050 net-zero goal. The Chair of the CCC, Professor Piers Forster stated that “around a fifth of the required emissions reductions to 2030 are covered by plans that we assess as insufficient“. Professor Forster finishes the assessment with an urgent call for the Prime Minister to increase transparency in updating its analysis of changing policies, like the net-zero pledges.
To conclude, Prime Minister Sunak may believe that it is a pragmatic approach to delay net-zero targets and leave policy gaps for the 2030 targets on net-zero, however, his popularity is declining and it has been seen to continue to do so when there are direct effects on the burden to the individuals and households. Even if the majority of voters seem indifferent to climate change, they are vehemently against added burdens in this cost of living crisis.
Bibliography
BBC News (2023). Net zero sceptics warm to Rishi Sunak’s climate shift. BBC News. [online] 3 Aug. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66388718 [Accessed 12 Feb. 2024].
Dooks, T. (2023). CCC Assessment of Recent Announcements and Developments on Net Zero. [online] Climate Change Committee. Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/2023/10/12/ccc-assessment-of-recent-announcements-and-developments-on-net-zero/.
Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit. (2023). Cost of NOT Zero in 2022. [online] Available at: https://eciu.net/analysis/reports/2022/cost-of-not-zero-in-2022.
GOV.UK. (2022). Review of Net Zero. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-net-zero.
Halpin, D. (2023). Net Zero Policy Changes to Cost Drivers and Renters More money, Say Advisers. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/rishi-sunak-government-government-policy-cop28-tata-steel-b2428520.html [Accessed 28 Jan. 2024].
Hu, Y., Bai, W., Farrukh, M. and Koo, C.K. (2023). How Does Environmental Policy Uncertainty Influence Corporate Green investments? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 189, p.122330. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122330.
Serin, E. (2023). Rishi Sunak’s Net Zero U-turn Puts UK Business Investment at Risk. [online] Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment. Available at: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/rishi-sunaks-net-zero-u-turn-puts-uk-business-investment-at-risk/.
S2S Group (2024). Available at: https://s2s.uk.com/environmental-sustainability/carbon-net-zero/.
Overall, the blog post provides a detailed and thought-provoking analysis of the recent policy changes concerning net-zero targets under Rishi Sunak’s leadership. The blog is well-structured and clear making it easy to read. Each section flows logically into the next which helps build a cohesive narrative. The inclusion of expert opinions from the likes of the Climate Change Committee aids the credibility of points being made. This blog however could benefit from further exploration of potential solutions to address the identified policy gaps.
I like how this blog post focuses on climate policy in particular rather than policymaking as a whole, using this to contextualise the argument. It provides an insight into the weigh up between economic investment and environmental policymaking, exploring this through Sunaks recent policy changes. Highlighting the tax burden placed on the taxpayer and not large corporations is a transparent insight into which side Sunak is on in the environment/economy argument. Also highlighting the further household burdens that will be put on the nation on food and household bills helps to tie the argument together here. The only suggestion i would have is that, this blog would benefit from suggestions to curve the policy gap.
This post provides a thorough examination of the recent changes in environmental policy under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, including their potential impacts on investment, households, and the achievement of net-zero targets .I thought this post was effective in explaining the policy gaps and their implications, which was helpful as I wasn’t previously very familiar with environmental policies in the UK.
I found the authors focus on the real-world impacts very interesting, as they highlight the effects of policy changes on investors, manufacturers and households, as well as the average individual, displaying how an issue like environmental policies should be of concern for us all, and how they can affect the average person in everyday life. I found the way the author linked the issues of environmental policies and climate change to the cost of living crisis very insightful as this was not something I had previously considered.
The author also offers credible points about the decline in popularity for the Prime Minister following his net zero announcement. The prime minister’s net favourability rating decreased to -45, according to a YouGov survey carried out days after his speech going back on net zero pledges, plunging to its lowest point since he took office (Sky News 2023)
Evidence has also shown that these developments may be of particular concern for young people. Data has shown that support for the Greens is higher among younger people, reaching 14% among 18-24 year olds and 12% among 25-29 year old, indicating that the younger generation have a greater concern for environmental and climate related issues. Data has displayed that nearly 60% of young people said they felt very worried about climate change, and that governments are failing to respond adequately, with many feeling betrayed and ignored by politicians, something that can only exacerbated by the PMs recent policy changes.
Climate change: Young people very worried – survey – BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-58549373
This blog post deals with the issue of climate change, particularly the actions of current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The blog effectively argues the disadvantages of governments moving their time table and the uncertainty this causes for businesses and people alike. Moreover, it provides a good amount of quotes and statistics from environmental experts to build on its point further. I do think their are areas that could improve the piece. It would have been useful to include what the claimed benefits of meeting the 2030 target are for the average person, what do people benefit from this? In addition, it would also be important to draw on the current political context. Is meeting the Net Zero target as important to voters as beating inflation and dealing with issues in the NHS and education? Some research into this would have been useful too.
This blog post was enjoyable to read. The key topic of policy-making and changes in policy-making was clearly displayed throughout the post with the example of Sunak and the idea of climate change and the UK’s aim to have net zero emissions. this article clearly outlines the impact that these policy-changes could have in the future specifically regarding investment and the people who will be at the forefront of these changes regarding the likes of funding. this article also discusses key concepts such as policy gaps and effectively applies the concept to the topic of the article. overall, and enjoyable and easy read however, this article could’ve looked at topics such as reasons that may cause these policy changes and current political event which may have lead to these changes taking place.