Prime Ministers Office 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks new approach to Net Zero
Let me get straight to it.
I know people in our country are frustrated with our politics.
I know they feel that much gets promised, but not enough is delivered.
I know they watch the news or read the papers and wonder why in the face of the facts as they have them, choices are made as they are.
I know that they dislike Westminster game playing, the short termism, and the lack of accountability.
But most of all I think people are tired of the false choice between two versions of change that never go beyond a slogan.
I have been Prime Minister for nearly a year now and it is the privilege of my life.
I know the fundamentals of our great country are solid and timeless.
Its people are its greatest strength, economically and socially.
Their hopes and genius are what propel us forward, not Government.
Government can set the framework, step in when needed, and step back when necessary.
It can make big decisions.
But what I have concluded during my time so far as Prime Minister, is that those decisions - the decisions that could bring real change, change that could alter the trajectory of our country - can be so caveated, so influenced by special interests, so lacking in debate and fundamental scrutiny that weve stumbled into a consensus about the future of our country, that no one seems to behappy with.
And this is because too often, motivated by short term thinking, politicians have taken the easy way out.
Telling people the bits they want to hear, and not necessarily always the bits they need to hear.
We are making progress, including on my five priorities.
Inflation down again today and on track to be halved.
Fastest growth in the G7 over the last two years.
Debt on target to be falling.
The NHS treating more patients than last year.
And small boats crossings significantly down on last year.
But put simply: that isnt enough.
If for too many, there remains a nagging sense that the path were on no matter which party is in government isnt quite what we hoped for, and that no one seems to have the courage to say so.
That we make too little, that we spend too much, that things take too long and that even when we know these things, we seem powerless to change them.
Now, I am here today to tell you that we do not have to be powerless.
Our future doesnt have to be a foregone conclusion.
Our destiny can be of our own choosing.
But only if we change the way our politics works.
Can we be brave in the decisions we make, even if there is a political cost?
Can we be honest when the facts change, even if its awkward?
And can we put the long-term interests of our country before the short-term political needs of the moment, even if it means being controversial?
I have spent my first year as Prime Minister bringing back stability to our economy, your government, and our country.
And now it is time to address the bigger, longer-term questions we face.
The real choice confronting us is do we really want to change our country and build a better future for our children, or do we want to carry on as we are.
I have made my decision: we are going to change.
And over the coming months, I will set out a series of long-term decisions to deliver that change.
And that starts today, with a new approach to one of the biggest challenges we face: climate change.
No one can watch the floods in Libya or the extreme heat in Europe this summer, and doubt that it is real and happening.
We must reduce our emissions.
And when I look at our economic future, I see huge opportunities in green industry.
The change in our economy is as profound as the industrial revolution and Im confident that we can lead the world now as we did then.
So, Ill have no truck with anyone saying we lack ambition.
But theres nothing ambitious about simply asserting a goal for a short-term headline without being honest with the public about the tough choices and sacrifices involved and without any meaningful democratic debate about how we get there.
The Climate Change Committee have rightly said you dont reach net zero simply by wishing it.
Yet thats precisely what previous governments have done both Labour and Conservative.
No one in Westminster politics has yet had the courage to look people in the eye and explain whats really involved.
Thats wrong and it changes now.
The plans made on your behalf assume this country will take an extraordinary series of steps that will fundamentally change our lives.
A ban on buying new boilers even if your home will never ever be suitable for a heat pump.
A ban that takes effect in just three years for those off the gas grid.
And mandatory home upgrades for property owners in just two years time.
There have even been proposals for:
- Taxes on eating meat
- New taxes on flying
- Compulsory car sharing if you drive to work
- And a government diktat to sort your rubbish into seven different bins.
Now I believe deeply that when you ask most people about climate change, they want to do the right thing, theyre even prepared to make sacrifices.
But it cannot be right for Westminster to impose such significant costs on working people especially those who are already struggling to make ends meet and to interfere so much in peoples way of life without a properly informed national debate.
Thats especially true because were so far ahead of every other country in the world.
Weve had the fastest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the G7. Down almost 50% since 1990.
France? 22%.
The US? No change at all.
China? Up by over 300%.
And when our share of global emissions is less than 1%, how can it be right that British citizens, are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?
Because the risk here, for those of us who care about reaching Net Zero as I do - is simple: If we continue down this path, we risk losing the consent of the British people.
And the resulting backlash would not just be against specific policies but against the wider mission itself, meaning we might never achieve our goal.
Thats why we have to do things differently.
We need sensible, green leadership.
It wont be easy.
And it will require a wholly new kind of politics.
A politics that is transparent, and the space for a better, more honest debate about how we secure the countrys long-term interest.
So, how do we do that? What is our new approach to achieving net zero?
First, we need to change the debate.
Were stuck between two extremes.
Those who want to abandon Net Zero altogether because the costs are too high, the burdens too great or in some cases, they dont accept the overwhelming evidence for climate change at all.
And then there are others who argue with an ideological zeal: we must move even faster, and go even further no matter the cost or disruption to peoples lives and regardless of how much quicker were already moving than any other country.
Both extremes are wrong.
Both fail to reckon with the reality of the situation.
Yes, Net Zero is going to be hard and will require us to change.
But in a democracy, we must also be able to scrutinise and debate those changes, many of which are hidden in plain sight in a realistic manner.
This debate needs more clarity, not more emotion.
The test should be: do we have the fairest credible path to reach Net Zero by 2050, in a way that brings people with us?
Since becoming Prime Minister, Ive examined our plans and I dont think they meet that test.
We seem to have defaulted to an approach which will impose unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families.
Costs that no one was ever told about, and which may not actually be necessary to deliver the emissions reduction that we need.
And why am I confident in saying that?
Because over the last decade or more, weve massively over delivered on every one of our carbon budgets despite continuous predictions wed miss them.
Weve seen rapid technological advances which have made things like renewables far cheaper:
Just consider offshore wind, where costs have fallen by 70% more than we projected in 2016.
And people are increasingly choosing to go green look at how demand for electric vehicles has consistently outstripped forecasts.
Given these things, Im confident that we can adopt a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to meeting Net Zero that eases the burdens on working people.
And thats the second part of our new approach.
Now Im not saying there will be no hard choices.
And nor am I abandoning any of our targets or commitments.
I am unequivocal that well meet our international agreements including the critical promises in Paris and Glasgow to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Im proud that our country leads the world on Net Zero, with the most ambitious 2030 target of any major economy.
And as were as committed as ever to helping developing countries.
Just the other week I announced $2bn for the Green Climate Fund the single biggest commitment of its kind, the UK has ever made.
But we can do all this in a fairer, better way