Campaigners call for Rishi Sunak to restore nature as new PM

Today Rishi Sunak has been announced as Britain’s next prime minister, the first prime minister of colour in the country’s history.

Rival Penny Mordaunt had also been in the running before dropping out just before 2pm, as she failed to gain the 100 Tory MP threshold.

The former chancellor comes in at a time when the UK is in turmoil, after suffering economic chaos under Liz Truss who was only in-post for 45 days.

Friends of the Earth (FOE) has called for the new PM to support environmental protection and undo the deregulations brought in by Truss.

Kierra Box, campaigner at FOE said: ‘The dual cost of living and climate crises remain the biggest challenges for the new Prime Minister, but they’re now even more pressing thanks to the political chaos and environmental back-pedalling of recent weeks.

‘Rishi Sunak has pledged he’ll deliver on the government’s climate targets. Yet his track record as Chancellor – which saw new North Sea oil and gas fast-tracked, levies for domestic flights cut and a weak windfall tax on profiting fossil fuel companies imposed – suggests otherwise.

‘He also backed fracking with community consent during the summer leadership race, but this proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Liz Truss’ premiership.

‘If Rishi Sunak plans to outlast his predecessor, he must learn from her mistakes, abandon runaway deregulation and the attack on nature and choose the sensible solutions to the cost of living and climate crises. That means saying no to more fossil fuels – including a new coal mine in Cumbria – as well as fixing our heat-leaking homes and boosting investment in cheap, clean popular renewables, which will lower bills and harmful emissions.’

The organisation is calling for a ‘street by street’ insulation scheme targeted at ‘energy crisis hotspots’ to help those most in need, as five million households in England and Wales are without basic measures, such as loft or cavity wall insulation.

Environmental protections must be kept in place too, as recent proposals to relax planning rules in ‘Investment Zones’ could undermine habitat protections and harm the UK’s biodiversity.

FOE is also urging Sunak to increase investment in renewable energy, to commit to Truss’ pledge to lift the ban on offshore wind power and to ditch any fracking, oil and gas or coal projects to help the UK meet climate targets.

Photo by Maxim Hopman