YEAR-ENDER - Is UK losing its 'leading role' in climate issues?

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — Despite insistence by UK officials that Britain is on track to become carbon neutral by mid-century, many of its policies over the past year have generated criticism for being counterproductive to its climate goals.

In a speech four days into 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined his five key priorities for the year: Halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing public debt, cutting waiting lists for the National Health Service (NHS), and putting an end to irregular migration to the country on so-called "small boats."

Tackling climate change or meeting the net-zero target was not one of these, though the country's meteorological office had already signaled that 2022 was the warmest year on record for the UK.

In addition, the government's Climate Change Committee (CCC) said in March that the UK was "strikingly" unprepared to meet the intensifying impacts of climate change.

"The government's lack of urgency on climate resilience is in sharp contrast to the recent experience of people in this country," the chair of the CCC's Adaptation Committee said in the statement.

At the international level, this has also fueled skepticism towards claims by the UK, the world's top carbon emitter until the early 20th century, to "leadership" in green policies, especially amid repeated UN warnings that the world is "significantly off track" in meeting the goals laid out in the 2015 Paris accord.

Despite the government's position, climate change stands as one of the key issues for Britons, as the Office for National Statistics said in May that it, along with inflation and the healthcare system are the primary concerns for public opinion.

- 'Greater urgency and a wider cultural shift'

In another warning in June, the CCC described government efforts to scale up climate action as "worryingly slow."

It also pointed to continued government backing for new oil and coal and airport expansion, while progress remained sluggish on adopting heat pumps, a climate-friendly heating alternative.

Licensing of new oil and gas projects has become a heated topic in terms of green policies, as environmental groups like Just Stop Oil have raised the issue constantly.

Backlash has also come from within the government itself, with Zac Goldsmith, a Foreign Office minister responsible for Asia, energy, climate, and the environment, announcing his resignation in June.

Accusing Sunak of being "uninterested" in the environment, he said the UK has "visibly" stepped off the world stage and withdrawn its "leadership on climate and nature."

A month later, when confirming 2022's status as the warmest year ever for the UK, Britain's Meteorological Office warned that unless emissions are brought under control, temperatures that break records now could seem "cool" compared to what they would become by 2100.

Another report in August mentioned that extreme heat waves were a growing concern among UK residents, who think the country is not equipped to ensure public safety.

The British Red Cross called for "greater urgency and a wider cultural shift" in adapting to hazards like heat waves after recent nationwide polling showed rising concern.

On the financial dimension of the problem, UK-based charity Oxfam pointed to the benefit of stronger taxes on UK polluters, which it said could have brought in more than $28 billion in 2022 to address climate change.

- U-turn?

Amid criticism and warnings, the UK government has announced a policy shift on the country's net zero commitments, met with both support and opposition.

The changes, which have been described as a "U-turn," include delays in enforcing a ban on the sale of new gas and diesel cars, the phase-out of gas boilers, and legislation to encourage the use of electric vehicles.

Doubling down, Sunak voiced confidence that his government could "adopt a more pragmatic, proportionate, realistic approach to meeting Net Zero."

He has also refused to ban new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, a move that he argued would "leave us reliant on expensive, imported energy."

Along with the political opposition, environmental groups including Just Stop Oil, Greenpeace, and Led By Donkeys have come out poignantly against the announcement.

Meanwhile, Sunak announced $2 billion to support climate projects earlier this month as he addressed the COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai.

He said that despite progress, the world was not moving fast enough towards the required targets to curb climate change.

At home, the UK Health Security Agency unveiled an overview of the potential health effects of climate change on the country, warning that they could be "significant and wide-ranging."

For Amelia Hadfield, head of the politics department at the University of Surrey, the changes in the UK's net zero targets are "absolutely" a U-turn.

In an interview with Anadolu earlier this year, Hadfield had said the data and evidence showed Sunak's denial of backsliding in the fight to prevent climate crisis was "just not true."