PM rules out Brexit-style referendum on Net Zero in spite of Tory rebellion
Rishi Sunak has vowed to stand up to Tory malcontents clamoring for a referendum on ripping up the Government's green agenda.
The PM faces calls from right-wingers to scrap the Net Zero target of 2050 - a move experts say would be disastrous with world temperatures at their highest level on record. Mr Sunak, who has previously crumbled in the face of rebellion, said he is "committed" to bringing down carbon emissions.
A group of Tory MPs have called for a Brexit-style referendum on whether to plough ahead with green measures in the hope of avoiding a drubbing at the polls. The PM shot that down, but hinted measures may still be watered down.
He said Net Zero needs to be achieved in a "proportionate and pragmatic way". Helicopter enthusiast Mr Sunak has come under fire after announcing plans to grant more than 100 new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
This prompted Greenpeace demonstrators to scale his Yorkshire mansion while he was on holiday in protest. Nevertheless the PM attempted to present himself as a climate champion.
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Greenpeace protesters outside Mr Sunak's Yorkshire mansion (Greenpeace / SWNS)Speaking to ITV News in Leicester on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said: "I'm committed to net zero. I have two young daughters, I care about the environment that we - I - leave them (in the future).
"My job is to leave it in a better state than I found it. But I think the path to net zero has got to be one that we tread carefully, that we bring everyone along with us on that journey, and we make that journey in a proportionate and a pragmatic way.
"So, my view is I'm committed to it. We will get there. We will bring people along with us as we do, we will not unnecessarily burden them with extra hassle or extra cost as we do it. That is my overall approach to Net Zero."
July was the hottest month on record around the world, and campaigners urged politicians not to "wage a culture war" around green issues. But influential figures in the Tory party are calling for Net Zero commitments to be ripped up, with gormer Home Secretary Dame Priti saying the 2050 target should be paused.
Meanwhile Tory MP Marco Longhi called for a referendum, claiming that a proper debate about decarbonising "has never been had", while fellow Tory MP Karl McCartney vented his anger at "London’s woke eco-zealot crowd". Their call comes despite Net Zero having been included in the 2019 Tory manifesto.
The PM is under growing pressure to roll back on climate change measures following the surprise Conservative by-election win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip amid protests over the capital's ultra low emission zone (ULEZ). When asked whether he would consider putting the 2050 deadline to a public vote, Mr Sunak appeared to rule it out, saying he thought there was "agreement on it".
"I think most people are committed to getting to net zero, but getting there in a proportionate and pragmatic way," he continued. "That seems to me that common-sense approach to doing this, I think that has broad support."
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