ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider World devider UK climate watchdog accuses Sunak of sending 'mixed signals'

UK climate watchdog accuses Sunak of sending 'mixed signals'

Published Jan 30, 2024 12:51 am

London, United Kingdom - Britain's top climate change advisory body on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of creating "mixed signals and a perception of "slowing UK climate ambition", as it demanded renewed action.

IMG_4326.jpeg

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with students' parents during a visit at the Haughton Academy in Darlington, north east England, on January 29, 2024 to outline plans for the banning of single use vapes. The UK will introduce legislation to ban disposable e-cigarettes in order to tackle a rise in youth vaping, announced Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on January 29, 2024 during a visit to a school in Darlington. Health experts welcomed the proposal, with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty saying the legislation would have "a major public health impact across many future generations". (Photo by Ian Forsyth / POOL / AFP)

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said the country's image as a leader on the issue had suffered since a speech by Sunak in September in which he put the brakes on several net-zero initiatives.

The Conservative government has also approved a new coal mine and licensed new oil and gas production while postponing a plan to bar the sale of petrol and diesel cars by five years.

"The international perception of the UK's climate ambition suffered from mixed messages following announcements on new fossil fuel developments and the prime minister's speech to soften some net zero policies," the committee said.

It advises on government policy over how to reach Britain's net zero aims, and on Tuesday issued its latest report reviewing progress at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in December.

The CCC added Sunak's September speech and the government's recent decisions "have contributed to a perception of slowing UK climate ambition by members of the international community".

"Strong, consistent domestic policy and communications on climate that avoid mixed messaging are crucial to be able to robustly advocate for high climate ambition internationally," it added.

The report comes weeks after Chris Stark quit as CCC head, following criticism of Sunak's environmental policies. He has called now meeting the country's 2050 net-zero target "wishful thinking".

Stark's resignation came just days after Conservative MP and former energy minister Chris Skidmore announced he was quitting as a lawmaker in opposition to Sunak's decision to grant hundreds of new oil and gas drilling licences.

Sunak has defended the policies, saying the UK would pursue a "pragmatic" approach to achieving net-zero.

The UK leader has said policies have been imposed "without having an honest conversation with the country about what's required to deliver them".

The government remained "committed" to those targets, he insisted, adding that he had "absolute confidence and belief that we will hit them".

The policy shift comes as British voters are facing a cost-of-living crisis that has seen food and housing costs spiral.

Some within Sunak's ruling Conservatives -- in power since 2010 -- have raised concerns over the potential financial cost of reaching net-zero.

The main opposition Labor Party -- leading in the polls ahead of an expected general election later this year -- have joined environmental campaigners and others in criticising Sunak's policy changes.


 

Related Tags

world news
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.