The Prime Minister’s controversial move to cut back many of the nation’s net-zero ambitions has received criticism from business leaders, environmentalists and Conservative party backbenchers.
A new survey from energy company Vattenfall also suggests a very different perspective to the country's needs from UK businesses.
While the government’s reasoning for its environmental U-turn is to save consumers money, Sunak’s justification has been met with serious scepticism.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, “we cannot afford to falter now or in any way to lose our ambition for this country”, and that “businesses must have certainty about our net zero commitments”. Jim Watson, Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, argues that the weakening of our sustainable policies is likely to add further costs onto businesses in the future, rather than cutting them, adding: “Rishi Sunak’s Net Zero speech is full of contradictions and will make it harder to meet our medium - and long-term climate change targets.
It also risks increasing the costs by delaying the shift away from fossil fuels and reducing the economic benefits to the UK.”
UK businesses are driving decarbonisation regardless.
The results of the Vattenfall survey suggest a majority of businesses remain committed to their net-zero goals regardless of the changes: 95.5 per cent of companies surveyed indicated they are steadfast in their commitment to reducing carbon footprints or achieving Net Zero.
A majority of 77.4% aim for significant cutbacks by 2030, with 58.1% envisioning 'substantial reductions' within the next 5 years, highlighting the understanding of the need within the business community for urgency in addressing net zero as an imperative.
