The UK is backing down on key climate goals

UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the country will back off on crucial climate goals, claiming it will help relieve economic burdens in British homes.

The announcement drew unfavourable reactions from many sectors, including business and even politicians within Sunak's Conservative Party.

The first significant policy change was changing the limit for selling new gas and diesel-running cars from 2030 to 2035. Used vehicles are exempted from the policy.

One of the policy's biggest detractors was the car industry. Companies have invested significantly to build and boost electric car plants to meet the original goal.

The second most significant announcement was that the government would weaken the plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers in homes.

Prime Minister Sunak said that 80% of these home appliances will disappear by 2035 instead of phasing them out completely.

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The original plan was to replace gas heaters with electric ones while urging homeowners to improve insulation and other measures to their houses.

However, the new policy also eliminated the requirement for landlords to make homes energy-efficient. Under the original plan, landlords could have faced fines.

According to The Guardian, Chris Norbury, the chief executive of energy company E.ON, said the policy condemned renters to living in the cold as it would be too expensive to heat homes.

The newspaper also claims senior conservatives led by Boris Johnson have criticised the decision, citing more significant costs to reach net zero emissions in the coming years.

The UK has set the net-zero emissions goal for 2050, and Prime Minister Sunak has kept it the same despite turning back on many mid and short-term objectives.

Climate activists will challenge the U-turn in court because the government is legally obligated to detail how it will accomplish the 2050 climate goals.

Sunak's decision works against the goal, and the Prime Minister did not specify policies to balance that setback and push the UK towards net zero.

According to the BBC, Prime Minister Sunak said the goal will be the same but will be met in a "more proportionate way," claiming that these short-term goals were too costly.

However, internal sources from Sunak's party cited by The Guardian claim that the move is an attempt to establish a political difference with the Labour Party.

The announcement will hurt the UK's image as a leading country in the fight against climate change, as it is one of the top historic carbon emitters.