Now that climate policy is going to hurt, the big backtracking has begun
Paul Luttikhuis, NRC
From one of our correspondents.
Climate editor of the NRC Paul Luttikhuis analyses a major stagnation when it comes to international climate policy. Across Europe, politicians are delaying ambitious climate plans for fear of being judged in elections.
Luttikhuis:
When British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had to answer for his decision to water down climate policy a week ago, he said that politicians – including those from his own party – had been dishonest about costs and trade-offs for far too long. "Instead, they chose the easiest path, saying that everything is possible at once, according to Sunak."
The country was one of the first to adopt a climate law that strictly set goals. And now Sunak wants to delay the ban on the sale of new gasoline cars from 2030 to 2035, delay the replacement of gas-fired heating installations with heat pumps, and make less haste with insulating homes.
Sunak is not the only head of government to make such a U-turn in recent times. In May, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Brussels to step up with new climate plans. Macron called himself a strong supporter of the Green Deal, a series of European laws to protect climate and biodiversity, but not at the expense of European industry.
https://www.climategate.nl/2023/09/nu-het-klimaatbeleid-pijn-gaat-doen-is-het-grote-terugkrabbelen-begonnen/
