CHURCH leaders and campaigners have disputed the Prime Minister’s assertion that his Government’s retreat on green commitments will help people who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
In a speech last week, Mr Sunak announced plans to delay Net Zero targets, although he said that he still wished to meet the deadline of 2050 (News, 22 September). Measures announced included delaying by five years a ban on new petrol and diesel cars, and delaying the phasing-out of gas boilers.
He insisted that he remained “absolutely committed to reaching net zero by 2050”, but said that the Government was changing its approach to meeting the target so as “to ease the burden on working people”.
A statement issued on Wednesday by religious leaders in Scotland — including the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Mark Strange — disagreed, however: “We know, as faith leaders, that people in poverty both around the world and at home are most at risk from climate change, and, in delaying action, the Prime Minister is not protecting families, as he claims, but is putting them in greater jeopardy.”
The leaders’ statement said that commitments made two years ago at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow were “now at serious risk”. It concluded: “We call upon the Government to renew its commitment to practical action now to ensure the agreements made in Glasgow in 2021 are strengthened, not delayed.”
The leaders’ statement was released on the same day as Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oilfield, 80 miles west of Shetland, was approved by regulators. The UK Government said that it would generate billions of pounds and “make us more secure against tyrants like Putin”; but the Scottish First Minister, Humza Yousaf, expressed disappointment, and the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas described it as “morally obscene”. The Church of England Pensions Board is one of 32 investors to have signed a letter expressing “deep concern” about the plan.
The head of advocacy of Tearfund, Paul Cook, also took issue with Mr Sunak’s claim of helping working people. Mr Cook acknowledged that there were “legitimate concerns about the cost to ordinary working people” of transitioning to net zero. “But these should be met with solutions that can be funded through initiatives, such as proper carbon taxes on the worst producers of fossil-fuel pollution,” he said.
“Globally, countries are pressing forward with action on climate change and a green economy revolution, creating tens of millions of new green jobs and industries of the future. If the UK holds back, it will not only be terrible for the environment and for people living in poverty, but also catastrophic for the UK economy.
“Rishi Sunak must not back-pedal on global commitments to reach net zero; doing so will harm people living in poverty and is not in the UK’s best interests.”
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, the C of E’s lead bishop for the environment, said that Mr Sunak was right to keep to the 2050 target, but said that “postponing changes leave necessary adaptations to the last minute, rather like last-minute exam cramming — a risky gamble. Ignoring the ongoing carbon emissions exacerbates climate change’s impact.”
He continued: “The Prime Minister said we can meet our climate targets without taking the carbon reduction actions the Government had previously announced. We can’t. Decarbonisation must permeate every aspect of our lives. Failing to acknowledge the urgency undermines progress, impacting business, investment, green job creation, and global influence.”
A joint statement by the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church said: “The commitments made at COP26 were instrumental in providing confidence to industry, investors and civil society that the UK was serious about rising to the climate challenge. It is a source of extreme disappointment that the Prime Minister’s announcement will damage that confidence and undermine our collective efforts. As a country, we have moral and legal responsibilities to show leadership in tackling the climate emergency together.”