News

Conservative leadership contender Rishi Sunak has promised to “scrap” Boris Johnson’s plan to relax a ban on onshore wind farms in an appeal to the Tory right on climate.The former chancellor said he would uphold the ban if he wins the contest and becomes prime minister – citing the “distress and disruption” that onshore wind farms can cause.David Cameron’s government introduced a de facto ban on new onshore wind farm construction in 2016 when development was excluded from any green electricity subsidies.And under current government plans, local communities in England would be asked to consent to host new turbines in return for discounted electricity bills.But Mr Sunak said on Wednesday: “I want to reassure communities that as prime minister I would scrap plans to relax the ban on onshore wind in England, instead focusing on building more turbines offshore.”A YouGov poll from September found that 62 per cent of Tory voters would support an offshore wind farm being built in their area, while on 28 per cent would be opposed.RecommendedEd Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate change secretary, said it was “economic illiteracy and unilateral economic disarmament in the fight against the climate crisis that Rishi Sunak wants to keep the ban on onshore wind”.Wera Hobhouse, the Lib Dems’ energy spokesperson, said Mr Sunak’s promise showed “he is completely out of touch with reality”.She added: “Any supposed energy security strategy without onshore wind simply makes no sense … Onshore wind sites can be up and running, providing low-cost clean power for bill payers, in around a year.”The frontrunner – just one vote short of becoming one of the final two candidates – also pledged to make UK self-sufficient in energy production by 2045.Under Mr Sunak’s plan a new “energy sovereignty” target for 2045 would be written in to law, and an energy security committee would co-ordinate action to keep power stations online, protect gas reserves and reform markets to cut consumers’ bills.A dedicated energy ministry would be formed by breaking up the current Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).Mr Sunak said: “As energy bills skyrocket in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has never been more important that our country achieves energy sovereignty, so that we’re no longer reliant on the volatility of the global energy supply.”It comes after Mr Sunak warned that if progress on the plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 is “too hard and too fast” it would lose public support.Climate campaigns and Tory supporters of the net zero commitment fear Mr Johnson’s successor will backslide on policies aimed at achieving the landmark 2050 pledge.Foreign secretary Liz Truss suggested she wanted to look again at policies aimed at achieving net zero, vowing to stop the levies which help pay for investment in renewable energy. Rival Penny Mordaunt said the 2050 target “mustn’t clobber people” financially.Chris Skidmore – chair of the Net Zero Support Group of Tory MPs keen to uphold the target – welcomed Mr Sunak’s latest announcements.“A dedicated Department for Energy gives better focus on net zero, while an energy security target highlights that renewable energy provides energy sovereignty – ending foreign fossil fuel dependence,” he tweeted.Tory MP Robert Jenrick also defended Mr Sunak’s green credentials, describing him as “in favour of a sensible and credible plan to net zero”.The former minister told Sky News: “What he has said is that this is a big and expensive and logistically difficult journey for the country, and we’ve got to make sure we keep the public with us on that path.”Mr Jenrick added: “When we’re thinking of new pledges – whether that’s the introduction of electric vehicles, or mandating that homes have to have ground-source heat pumps – we’ve got to think about the pound in people’s pocket.“Because if the public lose faith in this, then we’re only going to set back our path to net zero.”RecommendedA final vote of Tory MPs on Wednesday will select the two candidates to be put to the party’s membership in the race for No 10.Ms Truss and Ms Mordaunt are battling to win over Kemi Badenoch’s supporters after she was knocked out of the contest. More

Conservative leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has performed a double U-turn on whether she supports climate change targets, backing and then rowing back from the policy.Ms Badenoch, a right-winger who has focused her campaign on culture war issues, attracted criticism after she described net zero targets as “unilateral economic disarmament” early in the contest. There is a scientific consensus that the earth will face catastrophic levels of climate change unless carbon emissions are reduced to a net zero by 2050 – with some calling for an earlier target.But under pressure at a climate hustings on Monday she then told an audience that she backed the policy, joining the four other candidates in the scientific mainstream.Yet soon after the debate she reverted to type, taking to the Murdoch-owned TalkTV news channel to again voice doubts about the policy.Recommended“Yes, there are circumstances where I would delay it,” she told TalkTV’s The News Desk programme when asked about net zero.”But I think that the target itself is a bit of a red herring. We need to look at the plan.”I believe there is climate change and that’s something we do need to tackle, but we have to do it in a way that doesn’t bankrupt our economy. “We’ve got to take people with us. What would happen if we moved it to 2060 or 2070? We’re not going to be here. Let’s be realistic”.The net zero 2050 target was written into law by Theresa May and continued by Boris Johnson. RecommendedUnder the plan the UK would have to emit no more carbon than it absorbs by 2050, bringing it into line with its Paris climate commitments.Ms Badenoch remains in the race to replace Boris Johnson, alongside Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt. Tory MPs will vote later on Tuesday on which candidate to eliminate next. More

Ministers failed to outline exactly how their net zero strategy will achieve emissions targets, a court ruled on Monday – dealing the government’s climate change credentials a serious blow on the day Britain sweltered under its first ever red extreme temperature alert.Proposals for meeting emission targets were too vague for business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to claim in parliament that the government was on track to fulfil its global warming promises, the High Court said.Detailed analysis was omitted from the strategy even though “it is plain from the evidence before the court that the information existed at the time”, Mr Justice Holgate concluded.Legal campaigners the Good Law Project, who mounted the challenge with Friends of the Earth and Client Earth, said the ruling amounted to a finding that the strategy was “illegal and inadequate” and said Mr Kwarteng had been ordered to produce an improved version within eight months and to pay the activists’ costs.The embarrassing setback came as an influential parliamentary committee warned of a “major hole at the centre of government” over the resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure to climate change.RecommendedAnd Boris Johnson was accused of “clocking off” as he missed a third meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee to discuss the heatwave, which saw flights disrupted by melting runways at Luton airport and RAF Brize Norton as temperatures topped 38C.Record temperature levels were broken twice in a day in Wales, and firefighters reported at least 24 wildfires in 48 hours in England and Wales – double the number recorded in all of July last year.Tuesday is expected to be even warmer, with some forecasts estimating highs of 43C – well above the previous peak of 38.7C recorded in 2019.People are being advised not to travel on public transport unless “absolutely necessary”, while multiple schools have told The Independent that around a third of their pupils – or in some cases more than half – are absent today.Experts said that more must be done to “heat-proof” the country, which is “not built for 40C”.Professor Hannah Cloke, a natural hazards researcher at the University of Reading, said “severe heatwaves are a problem that’s not going away – and they will get worse.”She added: “We can no longer tolerate poor design of our buildings and our cities, and we urgently need to think about things like reducing overheating, shading, trees, building for cooling, and providing these public cooling spaces … because we’re not prepared and we’re not built for 40 degrees.”All five of the contenders for the Conservative leadership are now committed to Mr Johnson’s 2050 target for net zero carbon emissions in the UK, after Kemi Badenoch became to last to back the goal.But Ms Badenoch later branded the deadline a “red herring” and indicated she was ready to let it slip to avoid damaging the UK’s economy, telling Talk TV’s The News Desk: “There are circumstances where I would delay it…“The legislation we’ve put in is for 2050. That is a long, long time in the future. Practically none of us will still be here to be held accountable for it. So, I think it’s a red herring.“What would happen if we moved it to 2060 or 2070? We’re not going to be here. Let’s be realistic about what we can do now with the responsibility and the power and the levers that we have available.”Monday’s High Court ruling found that information supplied by officials to Mr Kwarteng about the effectiveness of various climate change policies was not precise enough for him to be able to assure MPs to a “legally essential” standard that the government was on track for net zero.And it said the net zero strategy did not make clear that official predictions were for 95 per cent of emissions to be eliminated, rather than 100 per cent, or explain how the 5 per cent shortfall could be made up.The Good Law Project said: “The dangerous heatwave this week is a stark reminder of the very real threat we face.“Our infrastructure and homes were designed for a climate that no longer exists. This cannot wait. The net zero target must be a road map to a sustainable future – not a lie we tell our children.”A Beis spokesperson said: “The Net Zero Strategy remains government policy and has not been quashed. The judge made no criticism about the substance of our plans which are well on track and, in fact, the claimants themselves described them as ‘laudable’ during the proceedings.”Meanwhile, parliament’s joint committee on the national security strategy blasted government minister Michael Ellis for refusing to give evidence to its inquiry on how critical national infrastructure, like power networks, railway lines and roads, is being prepared for the effects of climate change.Despite previously describing himself as the minister “responsible for resilience and security”, Mr Ellis told the committee he would not attend a 4 July hearing as he was “not best placed to give evidence” on a “technical and specialist matter”.Committee chair Margaret Beckett said: “The unfortunate impression that we are gaining … is that there are no ministers with responsibility for the resilience of critical national infrastructure to the effects of climate change, nor for cross-government climate adaptation efforts. This would be quite a shocking admission from the government.”Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson appeared to have “checked out” as the prime minister missed a Cobra meeting on the heatwave to attend Farnborough Air Show, where he boasted to business leaders about his record in office and recounted how he had taken the controls of a Typhoon fighter jet on a visit to RAF Coningsby last week.The PM was previously criticised for missing a Cobra meeting on the heatwave on Saturday, when he hosted a farewell party for supporters at country retreat Chequers.“For many people it’s going to be a real struggle today and tomorrow in the heat, and they’re seeing a prime minister who’s basically checked out, so he’s not really doing anything,” said Starmer.And London mayor Sadiq Khan said Mr Johnson should resign immediately rather than enjoy a “joyride” on a fighter jet and “go on a jolly”.But Downing Street insisted it was “not unusual” for meetings of the emergency committee to led by ministers rather than the PM. Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse, who took the chair today, said Mr Johnson was being regularly updated and denounced what he said was “a politically motivated assault upon the prime minister, which is completely unfair”.The shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband told The Independent: “While Britain boils, the Conservatives bury their heads in the sand about the greatest long-term threat our country faces, the climate crisis.“For years we have heard the warnings about a rapidly warming world. But Tory politicians failed to listen. Now, as Britain swelters and our railways melt, the Conservatives waste their time on fantasy economics and climate denial.Recommended“Britain faces a choice – higher energy bills, instability and the chaos of a rapidly warming world with the Conservatives, or a plan for a green energy sprint to tackle the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis with Labour.”A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The net zero strategy remains government policy and has not been quashed. The judge made no criticism about the substance of our plans which are well on track and, in fact, the claimants themselves described them as ‘laudable’ during the proceedings.” More

Taking action on the climate emergency is the bottom priority for Conservative members in the party’s leadership contest, a poll has found.Just 4 per cent of those surveyed by pollster YouGov said hitting the UK’s net zero emissions target by 2050 was one of their top three priorities for the next prime minister.The survey, commissioned by the Times found that winning a general election, cutting taxes, increasing defend spending and strengthening the UK’s global standing were all more important to members.Out of the 10 policy areas listed, reaching net zero was placed bottom.The news comes as an “unprecedented” heatwave triggers red warnings and advance to remain inside across southern Britain, with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees celsius.RecommendedWhile the YouGov survey suggests apathy to the climate emergency among the governing party faithful, previous research has suggested that this does not necessarily translate into antipathy. The Independent last week reported a poll of members conducted by Opinium that only a small minority, 37 per cent, of Tory members think the UK government is “overreacting” with its climate policies.22 per cent of Tory members believed the government had been underreacting while 30 per cent say it is getting the balance of action about right – an apparently endorsement of net zero.That finding came despite a push from figures on the British right like ex Brexit party leader Nigel Farage and Tory backbencher Steve Baker to campaign against the policy. Out of all the Tory leadership candidates only Rishi Sunak has been vocal in his support of the net zero target without reservation, and right-winger Kemi Badenoch has described it as “unilateral economic disarmament”.She and other conservatives argue that the UK can gain an advantage by not pulling its weight on climate targets. Under net zero, the UK would have to produce no more carbon than it absorbs by 2050. There is a scientific consensus that this approach is required to avert catastrophic climate disaster, though some significant effects will still be felt.RecommendedPolling by Ipsos MORI conducted in October found widespread public support for both net zero in principle and for policies such as frequent flier levies and phasing out gas boilers. Half (54 per cent) of UK voters think that the country should be reducing its carbon emissions to net zero sooner than 2050, with 83 per cent extremely, very or fairly worried about climate change. More

Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has backtracked on remarks which appeared to cast doubt on his commitment to the party’s net zero target.The row comes as fears grow that Boris Johnson’s successor as prime minister will ditch the pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050.Chris Skidmore – the former energy minister who leads the Net Zero Support Group of environmentalist backbenchers – tweeted that Mr Tugendhat had told a hustings event the target should be moved back.But Mr Tugendhat, the perceived moderate left in the race, claimed he was merely questioning how best to achieve the 2050 net zero emissions.Asked about his views by reporters on Thursday, he said: “Of course I agree with the target, but nobody yet has set out a path to achieving it.”RecommendedRishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss all offered clear backing for the 2050 net zero target at Wednesday night’s hustings, according to Mr Skidmore.But Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to change the “concept” of the target, while Suella Braverman said the 2050 date should be moved back.A Tory source told The Independent that Mr Tugendhat told MPs that the landmark date should be looked at again.But the moderate appeared to offer his support for the push to cleaner energy supply when speaking to reporters on Thursday, saying it was vital to invest in new technologies.“We keep talking about net zero as a cost – it is also a benefit,” he told reporters. “We could be imitating the Norwegians and actually making money from carbon capture.”Senior Tory MP Steve Baker – founder of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group – has suggested that he would push for the next PM to dismantle the government’s climate agenda.Ms Braverman, Mr Baker’s favoured candidate, has said the party should “suspend the all-consuming desire to achieve net zero by 2050”.Ms Badenoch has also publicly branded the net zero target “unilateral economic disarmament” and has vowed to ditch policies which “consume taxpayers hard-earned money”.Ms Truss, Ms Badenoch and Ms Mordaunt all said they would suspend green taxes on energy bills. The levies help pay for investment in renewable energy needed to move Britain away from fossil fuel dependence.“I’d have a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy … while looking at the best way of delivering net zero,” Ms Truss told The Spectator.Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith told The Independent earlier this week that it would be better to have a Labour government than a Tory leader who “deprioritises” action on net zero.And Alok Sharma, the former business minister and president of the Cop26 climate conference, has also warned Tory leadership that backtracking on net zero is “a road to nowhere”.RecommendedMeanwhile, Mr Tugendhat – who won 37 votes in the first round – has denied he would be dropping out of the Tory race. “I’m still in this fight,” he said.Telling reporters that he had been wooed by other candidates to back them, he said: “I feel like a prom queen”. More

Britain’s top business leaders have urged the Conservative leadership candidates hoping to succeed Boris Johnson not to ditch or backslide on the government’s net zero climate commitments.Groups representing thousands of UK businesses – including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Scottish Power, Thames Water and Lloyds Banking Group – have called on contenders to uphold policies aimed at achieving net zero by 2050.It comes as MPs and peers warn that “siren voices” from net zero sceptics on the Tory backbenches are hoping to move leadership hopefuls away from policies aimed at tackling climate change.Right-wing contender Kemi Badenoch has branded the net zero target “unilateral economic disarmament” and vowed to axe it, while Suella Braverman said the party should “suspend the all-consuming desire to achieve net zero by 2050”.A coalition of leading corporate bodies – including the Food and Drink Federation, the International Chamber of Commerce and UK Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) – have shared an open letter warning not to abandon the party’s manifesto commitment.Eliot Whittington, director of CLG, warned that a retreat on net zero policies would “condemn the country to fall behind on the energy transition and face unnecessary costs and risks”.RecommendedHe added: “Forward-looking businesses want more, not less, ambition on climate action – especially as we see the ramifications of volatile fossil fuel supply chains ramping up the cost-of-living crisis and reducing regional energy security.”The coalition of business chiefs said investment in green infrastructure and technology would help driving jobs and growth, in a letter coordinated by the UK Business Group Alliance for Net Zero, led by Cambridge University’s pro-climate business group CLG.Amanda Mackenzie, chief executive of Business in the Community, called on all those hoping to enter No 10 in September to “deliver” on a clear transition to a net zero. “Turning away now is the wrong solution,” she said.Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive of UK Green Building Council, added: “As prices soar businesses are looking for the next prime minister to deliver on the UK’s legal climate commitments, not ditch them.”Senior MP Steve Baker – founder of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG) of Tory backbenchers – has suggested that he would push for the next PM to dismantle the government’s climate agenda.Ms Badenoch, appealing to the sceptics, told her campaign launch on Tuesday: “Too many policies, like net zero targets, [were] set up with no thought to the effects on industries in the poorer parts of this country.”Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith previously told The Independent it would be better to have a Labour government than a Tory leader who “deprioritises” action on net zero.The ally of Mr Johnson added: “It would be a catastrophic error for Conservatives to select a candidate who deprioritises these issues, but if they do, then we can only hope voters replace the party at the [next] available election.”Chris Skidmore, a senior backbencher who chairs the Net Zero Support Group set up to rival Mr Baker’s band of sceptics, has vowed to push candidates to uphold Britain’s climate commitments.“We can’t put net zero at risk,” Mr Skidmore, the former energy minister who signed the 2050 target into law, told The Independent. “I devoutly believe net zero is a vote winner.”RecommendedAlok Sharma, the former business minister who acted as president of the Cop26 climate conference, has warned Tory leadership hopefuls not to backslide on the net zero pledge.“Economically, environmentally and electorally it would be a retrograde step for us to resile from this policy. It’s a road to nowhere,” he told the i newspaper.Asked if frontrunner Rishi Sunak is fully behind policies aimed at achieving net zero emissions by 2050, he said: “I will wait to see what all the candidates say on this particular issue, which is very important for me.” More

Boris Johnson sent for his ministerial jet to fly back from Cornwall to London after a family trip to the beach.The prime minister and wife Carrie took their children Wilf and Romy to the seaside in Porthminster, St Ives, during the weekend visit to the Southwest.Downing Street insisted the “sole reason” for the flight was to transport Mr Johnson and staff back from government business. The government plane was sent from London to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, near Helston, on the morning of Monday 13 June, the Sunday Mirror first reported.On the Friday before, Mr Johnson went to the Royal Cornwall Show, where he visited cattle and sheep tents and spoke to local traders. He also met farmers with Conservative candidate Helen Hurford ahead of the 23 June Tiverton and Honiton by-election, which the Lib Dems won in a major blow to the PM.Over the weekend, Mr Johnson was seen enjoying the sunshine on at beach at St Ives. On Monday of the flight, he went to Southern England Farms in Hayle, where he was photographed driving a tractor, trimming a courgette and weighing broccoli, before flying back to London.Emily Thornberry, Labour’s shadow Attorney General, accused of the PM of “treating the government’s official plane as his personal taxi service, regardless of what it costs the environment or the taxpayer”.“It’s the act of a man drunk on power, who needs to be told he’s had enough,” she added.A No 10 spokesperson said: “All travel decisions are made with consideration for security and time restraints.”The PM is accompanied on government business by a delegation of staff, which is taken into consideration as part of ensuring taxpayer value for money.”This was the sole reason for the plane being used to transport the PM and his staff back from this particular visit.”Boris Johnson was last year accused of “staggering hypocrisy” after he took a private jet back from the Cop26 climate summit to attend a private members’ club dinner in London.His Cornwall trip also raises questions about whether the flight was justified under the ministerial code.”Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements,” the rulebook states.”Official transport should not normally be used for travel arrangements arising from party or private business, except where this is justified on security grounds.”Family members are permitted to join ministers on the trips “provided that it is clearly in the public interest”.The same plane was used for Mr Johnson’s diplomatic visit to Rwanda, Germany and Spain.During the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, the Prime Minister and Canada’s Justin Trudeau compared the relative sizes of their jets.Mr Johnson said he had seen “Canada Force One” on the tarmac and Mr Trudeau joked that the Prime Minister’s plane was bigger.”Very modest” was how Mr Johnson described his own jet. More

Environmental campaigners have cautiously welcomed a move by the UK’s export finance agency to stop making new investments in fossil fuels overseas.UK Export Finance has in the past been criticised for providing funds for British businesses exploiting oil and gas abroad – effectively subsidising fossil fuels and driving climate change.But the government agency says from this year it is not providing any new support to new fossil fuel projects for the first time.The organisation extends loans to British businesses wanting to work abroad to give them a competitive advantage and help them export.UKEF has provided £7.4 billion of government support for UK exports in the last year, supporting 72,000 UK jobs and adding a gross value of £4.3 billion to the economy.The investments cost the taxpayer nothing overall as they produce a net profit for the Treasury, in 2021-22 of £324 million.The agency has also unveiled new carbon reduction targets for its other investments so that it it takes the carbon produced by them into account, and has confirmed it was not planning to make fossil fuel investments going forward. Environmentalists said the change was positive but that there was more to do.Friends of the Earth’s International climate campaigner, Rachel Kennerley, said: “While it’s good news that UKEF hasn’t invested in fossil fuel developments overseas this year, they are still financing a huge gas development in Mozambique that’s fuelling violence and climate breakdown.“Friends of the Earth is currently challenging this ill-conceived investment in the UK courts.“Instead, UK taxpayers’ money should be investing in Africa’s huge renewable energy potential so people without electricity have access to clean, safe energy.”UKEF has set new targets to reduce absolute emissions (tCO2e) of its existing oil and gas sector investments by 75 per cent by 2030.It also plans to reduce so-called “economic emissions intensity” of investments in the power sector by 58 per cent by 2030 work to net-zero basis by 2050.On the domestic front the government has been criticised for effectively subsidising oil and gas production at home with new tax reliefs unveiled in Rishi Sunak’s budget.Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of State for International Trade, commented: “The UK is awash with untapped export potential. “We have opened the door to the world with historic trade deals and now we are helping businesses walk through it. That’s why our national export credit agency, UK Export Finance, is boosting firms’ ability to export to the world with record-breaking support year after year.” More