Net Zero and the Law
On September 20 th , 2023, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced changes to the UK’s policies described as a ‘watering-down’ in a Guardian article ( Horton, 2023). The date of the proposed ban on the sale of new combustion engine cars was changed from 2030 to 2035; the plan for a complete phase-out of gas boiler installations by 2035 was changed to a reduction by 80%; plans to fine landlords who failed to upgrade their properties to a certain level of energy efficiency were dropped; and the prime minister confirmed that his party would not take forward policies “such as taxing airlines properly and informing the public of the carbon footprint of meat”. On April 18 th , 2024, Scotland’s Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllen stated that Scotland’s 2030 climate change target could not be met, though its 2045 target remained. Fankhauser (2024) pointed out that the 2030 target of a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to 1990 had been set in law in the Emissions Reduction Targe