Plans announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak include a commitment to invest 20 billion pounds ($26 billion) in carbon capture and storage projects, though Sunak maintained the government’s commitment to net carbon emissions zero by 2050.
Sunak, who will travel to Scotland to formally present the package, said Britain will continue to need fossil fuels even after the country reaches its goal of net zero emissions. He pointed out that it is better to produce oil and natural gas at home rather than rely on foreign leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring around the world.
“We have all witnessed how Putin has manipulated and weaponized energy, disrupting supplies and stalling growth in countries around the world,” Sunak said in a statement. “Now more than ever, it is vital that we strengthen our energy security and harness that independence to bring clean, more affordable energy to British homes and businesses.”
But UN scientists and environmental activists are calling on governments around the world to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels after a summer of record temperatures, droughts and floods linked to man-made climate change.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern that governments are backtracking on their commitments to cut emissions instead of accelerating efforts.
“The problem is not just fossil fuel emissions, it is fossil fuels, period,” Guterres told reporters last month in New York.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
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