UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been criticized for moving to cut electric vehicle (EV) sales targets and accept North Sea drilling at a time of devastating wildfires caused by the climate emergency. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The prime minister for the first time acknowledged on Friday that the climate crisis was behind hundreds of wildfires that have ripped across parts of the UK. The scale of the disaster has prompted the government to bring in the military, ban the sale of disposable barbecues and activate the national alert system to issue safety advice to people across England and Wales in areas at risk on Friday night.
However, Burnham was also accused of failing to take the push for net zero seriously enough, as the government took steps towards watering down EV targets on the same day.
Government launches consultation on lowering EV targets
On Friday, the government launched a consultation on cutting the target for new EVs to as little as 50% of all new cars in 2030, down from 80% under existing rules. These proposals could add millions of tonnes a year to the UK's carbon dioxide emissions. The consultation will include several options, including leaving the headline target unchanged, or cutting it to 70%, 60% or 50%.
In a video from the West Midlands, where homes have been destroyed and dozens of people injured, Burnham appeared to acknowledge the seriousness of the climate crisis. "We cannot accept this as the new normal," he said. "This isn't happening in isolation.
"Much of England and Wales is in drought and we are in another period of extreme heat. Farmers are watching crops fail and firefighters have faced hundreds of wildfires in a matter of weeks. This is what climate change looks like, here and now."
But in a broadcast interview, he also defended his "pragmatic" approach on extracting oil and gas from the North Sea. His government will shortly have to decide whether to allow new drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, with a consultation on the former closing on Monday.
Environmental groups have said permitting extraction at the fields should be inconceivable after five heatwaves this summer, with Greenpeace saying it was "Rubicon that he must not cross".
Hottest day and wildfires
The decision to consider weakening one of the UK's key climate policies on EVs was announced hours after the country recorded its hottest day of the year so far – and the fifth hottest ever – after five heatwaves that scientists have said are almost certainly worsened by global heating caused by carbon emissions.
Fire services said 19 homes were destroyed, 200 hectares (500 acres) burned and dozens of people sent to hospital in the West Midlands, the UK's traditional automotive centre, in grassfires that may have been worsened by drought.
Speaking from Stourbridge, Burnham said it was necessary to bring in a temporary ban on disposable barbecues from Friday, asking retailers to withdraw them from sale.
"Please think about the situation we are in," he said. "Britain is a tinderbox right now. Setting a fire in any outdoor setting is a risk to people's homes and other people's lives."
The prime minister also revealed he planned to commission firefighting planes to combat the spread of wildfires and appointed a new fire minister, as he made the case that country had to "face up" to the "changing climate".
Reaction from environmental groups
Environmental groups largely welcomed Burnham's words on the climate after 50 organisations earlier criticised him in a letter for failing to mention it following a Cobra meeting on the heatwave earlier this week.
Hannah Martin, the co-director of Green New Deal Rising which coordinated Friday's letter, said: "Finally Andy Burnham has said the words 'climate change' as prime minister and acknowledged the cause of the wildfires, drought and extreme heat that is raging across the country. Now he needs to put policies in place to deal with the scale of the crisis.
"That means saying no to new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea … it also means ramping up new investment in renewable energy and climate jobs, doubling down on insulating homes and improving public transport, and making sure our homes, hospitals, schools and emergency services are properly equipped to deal with extreme weather caused by climate change."
Sam Keely from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank also urged Burnham not to row back on the government's commitment for the rollout of electric vehicles. Keely said: "At the same time as the prime minister was speaking, the government launched its consultation on watering down the zero emissions vehicle mandate. Getting more EVs on the road is one of the single most important policies for cutting UK emissions and will also insulate more British motorists from paying more at the petrol pump as a result of volatile oil prices, saving billions of pounds on the British driving bill."
Electric car sales have soared by 29% in the UK this year, but the automotive industry has said the sales targets are too high.