Rishi Sunak under fire from UK tech stakeholders over revision of net-zero policies

Resistance to change

The policy changes have seen the government come in for criticism from various quarters, including from key stakeholders within the motoring industry.

As reported by The Independent, motor manufacturing giant Ford’s UK chair, Lisa Brankin, said businesses need “three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of [the] 2030 [goal] would undermine all three”.

Meanwhile, Julian David, CEO of UK technology trade body TechUK, also criticised Sunak’s plans for introducing uncertainty that could deter investment in the UK’s clean tech sector.

“To make the long-term investments necessary to achieve net zero, businesses need a clear and stable policy environment. Weakening its targets sends the wrong signals, deters investment and turns heads towards countries with more stable regulatory environments. It places the UK’s prospects as a clean tech leader at serious risk,” said David.

An independent review into the UK’s net-zero plans previously described them as signifying a “significant economic opportunity for the UK”, which David said is an opportunity the government is now at risk of squandering.

“The government’s own commissioned review said the net-zero transition is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, and the economic benefits will be mostly felt by countries who move early and encourage the most research and development (R&D) and innovation.”  

Craig Melson, associate director for climate, environment and sustainability at TechUK, and a regular contributor to the Computer Weekly IT Sustainability Think Tank, was equally disparaging of the government’s plans in a blog post, and called on Sunak to rethink his plans.

“This sends the worst possible signal to investors, the business community and the tech sector, who have already suffered years of regulatory uncertainty and confused signals,” he wrote.

“While businesses themselves have set ambitious targets, we need the right signals supported by regulatory and policy certainty to make the investment case and commit to developing long-term R&D.

“Some industries only have one or two investment cycles before 2050, and many will simply defer the (much-needed) R&D efforts or divert their investment away from the UK.”