The property industry’s backlash against the prime minister’s net zero U-turn has grown, with more business leaders condemning the move.
Rishi Sunak defended the decision to scrap or delay several key green targets earlier this week, but said those targets were “not necessary” to meet the UK’s emissions obligations by 2050.
The move has been condemned by real estate industry leaders.
Tor Burrows, group sustainability director at Grosvenor, said the move sent “all the wrong signals”.
“Diluting the UK’s commitment to net zero is not the way to build our economy, create jobs or address climate change. Changing course and pursuing a tactical agenda sends all the wrong signals and risks the many benefits an ambitious and essential climate agenda could bring people, the country and the planet.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation, has already condemned the move as “deeply frustrating” and “the opposite of what we need”.
Simon McWhirter, deputy chief executive at the UK Green Building Council, said that feeling was widespread. “The anger and frustration at this latest policy U-turn has reverberated across industry. Delaying green policies just means they will have to be implemented much faster, later, pushing up the cost for everyone – householders and businesses alike.”
He added: “The prime minister’s change in approach will also have a chilling effect on investment and skills training across green industries as they are faced with yet another pull on the policy handbrake, just as our members and wider business were scaling up their pro-green activities across the economy.”
In June, the Climate Change Committee said it was less confident in the government’s ability to deliver its 2030 and 2035 commitments than it was a year previously.
Echoing views expressed by outgoing chair Lord Deben in his EG interview, McWhirter said this was another step in the wrong direction. “All we’ve had today is a further erosion of commitment and clarity from government.”
Emma Hoskyn, UK head of sustainability at JLL, agreed that the announcements were “disappointing” to many in the sector.
“It is through robust net zero policies and a stable landscape that the real estate sector, from investors to occupiers, can have confidence in, and capitalise on, the opportunities that a rapid transition to net zero can provide,” she said. “Rolling back on net zero commitments will destabilise investment into green skills, sustainable technology and energy-efficient homes. It will also derail the opportunities and security that a green economy and green energy can provide for the UK, for business and for individuals.”
Kaela Fenn-Smith, managing director, sustainability and ESG consultancy, CBRE UK and Ireland, agreed. “Any backwards shift in policy represents a damaging step and potentially undermines the very future of our economy and life on this planet,” she said.
She added: “I want to encourage the prime minister not to row back on all the hard work so many of us have invested in.”
Many called for greater stability and clarity from the government.
James Hardy, UK director of sustainability at Turner & Townsend, said: “Our industry, like many others, has been scaling up at pace to meet the government’s previously ambitious commitments. As these contribute to the delivery of UK’s 2050 statutory target, they aren’t a nice to have – they represent an absolute requirement if we are to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
He pointed out that retrofitting homes and workplaces, as well as providing infrastructure for EV charging networks and clean energy solutions, were highly complex. “They require the ‘long-term green thinking’ the prime minister called for – a programmatic approach with full and consistent support of government and industry is essential to success. However, it must not come at the cost of short-term political gain, nor should it derail the years of long-term planning, delivery and progress that we are already galvanising behind.”
Sunak has said critics of his move should explain “why ordinary families up and down the country should have to fork out 5, 10, 15 thousand pounds to make the transition earlier than is necessary”.
Hardy said this was missing the point. “By dialling down on action today it will cost us more in the long run. There is readily available capital for green investment globally. Delaying our net zero efforts risks only makes this capital more expensive too.”
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