Green retreat Raft of Tory climate policies under threat

Rishi Sunak has been accused of showing disregard for the climate crisis after Whitehall officials warned that some of his key green pledges were already unachievable.

-  Michael Savage and Kevin Rawlinson

With the prime minister facing a backlash within his own party after appearing to row back from his commitment to green policies, an internal government audit found that a series of measures designed to help meet Britain's net zero goals had been allowed to run off course.

A scheme to reduce packaging, a deposit return plan for plastic bottles, a boost for recycling and a tree planting and woodland creation programme have all been given a "red" rating by Whitehall's major projects body. It concluded that their successful delivery "appears unachievable".

The revelation backed up claims that the government is in "full retreat" on climate pledges. Sunak has already signalled that the UK's net zero targets should not "unnecessarily give people more hassle" and announced that he had ordered a review of low-traffic neighbourhoods, telling the Telegraph he was "on the side" of motorists.

It is a sign the Tory leadership is willing to use green policies as a weapon against Labour. The shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, accused the Conservatives of "deepening climate disaster" by planning to stay on fossil fuels".