Does Boris Johnson’s green agenda go far enough?

The ‘awkward squad’ are threatening to make trouble over net zero

Prime Minister Boris Johnson
The PM: lacking a clear strategy?
(Image credit: Jane Barlow/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The message from climate scientists in last week’s landmark report was clear, said The Observer: humanity must wean itself off fossil fuels now. While every nation must play its part, there’s a particular onus on Britain. It was here, after all, that the Industrial Revolution began, and it is Britain that is hosting the UN’s critical climate summit, COP26, in November. Many nations at the event in Glasgow will be looking to the UK for leadership, but it will be in little position to offer it. The Government has not only failed to set out a clear strategy for achieving net-zero emissions in the near future; it’s also continuing to support measures that directly undermine that goal. This “list of incompatibilities” includes the recent closing of the Green Homes Grant insulation scheme; freezing fuel duty; encouraging airport expansion; and delaying the phasing out of gas boilers beyond the planned date of 2035.

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