LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under pressure ever since he watered down government rhetoric on net zero targets — from campaigners, industry leaders, and his own warring MPs. Now he faces a challenge on another front: his own voters.
Even as the Tories prevaricate on key climate policies, new polling shows that voters planning to support the Conservative Party at the next election overwhelmingly back the government’s target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Around two thirds of all voters support the 2050 deadline, with support among Conservative voters slightly higher at 73 percent, according to a poll from the research company Focaldata, alongside the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank.
The data comes as the government continues to shift its tone on green policies, more than a fortnight after the Conservatives narrowly clung onto their Uxbridge seat in a by-election by campaigning against the expansion of an anti-air pollution scheme pushed by London’s Labour mayor.
Sunak, while stressing he is committed to the 2050 target, has called for net zero to be pursued in a “proportionate and pragmatic” way that does not burden households with additional cost pressures and declared himself “on the side of motorists.” The government has softened its demands for improving energy efficiency at privately-rented homes but — after a period of uncertainty — has stuck to its target of banning sales of combustion engine cars by 2030.
Sunak last week gave the green light to over 100 new oil and gas licenses, widening policy splits with the opposition Labour party — which has ruled out granting new licenses — ahead of a general election.
About two-thirds of people polled by Focaldata at the end of July said they would be proud to support a party which was in favor of generating more electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind.
A further 47 percent said they would be proud of backing a party which supported lifting the de facto ban on onshore wind farms. Rishi Sunak’s government has pledged to ease restriction on onshore wind but not yet acted on this promise.
Almost half of those polled said they would be embarrassed if the party they voted for reduced the number of homes being insulated, while 44 percent would be embarrassed if they backed a party which banned solar farms in fields.
Alasdair Johnstone, head of parliamentary engagement at the ECIU, said any roll back in net zero pledges in recent weeks has not “translated into public hostility towards it.”
“With public support for the target still strong, and broad support for the kind of policies required to achieve it, politicians will need to be careful when thinking about how they will campaign on climate and the environment,” he added. “If parties want to build a broad base of voters, then a strong offering on the environment and tackling climate change is clearly important.”
