RISHI SUNAK is facing a fresh clash with Boris Johnson after he was accused of being responsible for blocking progress on tackling climate change.
The Prime Minister has made combatting global warming a key issue of his premiership. With Britain hosting the UN COP26 climate change summit later this year, Mr Johnson is eager for the UK to lead the way in shifting towards sustainability.
However, the Treasury is coming under pressure for failing to set out its funding plan to help the country shift to Net-Zero carbon emissions.
The Government has committed that by 2050 the UK will be carbon neutral.
Mr Johnson has said funding is central to the green agenda.
He said earlier this week cash is one of the “big commitments to change in four specific areas”.
Listing the aims, he said: “Coal – we want the developed world to kick the coal habit entirely by 2030 and the developing world by 2040.
“Cars – we want the world to follow the UK lead and abandon fossil fuel internal combustion engine machines.
“Cash – we want the richest nations which have historically produced so much of the world’s carbon to recommit to supporting the rest of the planet to go green with funds of $100bn a year.
“Trees – we want COP26 to commit to restoring nature and habitat and ending the massacre of the forests because trees are among our best natural defences against climate change.”
Government ministers have complained Mr Sunak’s department are failing to sign off on plans to help reach the Net-Zero goal.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng complained publicly on Monday crucial documents including the heat and buildings strategy, which propose a timescale for the replacement of gas boilers, have not been published due to a lack of Treasury approval.
The Government had promised the documents would be made public in March.
Mr Kwarteng told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday he was “very keen to see it published because I think that will set out a number of options”.
He added: “There is a transition and that’s something that we’re focused on and we want to try and help people make that transition.
“We’ve got a Heat and Buildings Strategy that is going to come out very soon.”
Source: Express.co.uk
