THE furore following the Prime Minister’s more pragmatic approach to reaching Net Zero was predictable.
So, too, were those in the opposition camp, which included politicians of all persuasions, who’ve maintained the fiction that getting to Net Zero will be simple, painless and affordable.
And they’ve promised tens of thousands of new, green jobs, but never say how this will be achieved.
We don’t even have the infrastructure to go electric, which will cost multi-billions of pounds.
Without viable and affordable alternatives, we would simply condemn the country to a colder, poorer future.
Despite the push to EVs, disillusioned consumers are voting with their feet and sales are falling.
Replacements for our current heating systems must be more efficient and affordable than the heat pumps currently on offer.
The much-vaunted gigawatts provided by on and offshore windfarms are no use unless fed into the National Grid, a byzantine process, which at current rates will take years.
So I welcome Mr Sunak’s intervention.
I would go further.
The Climate Change Act 2008 must be rewritten.
As well as creating the all-powerful Climate Change Committee, it locked us into an ever-tightening ratchet of legally binding, five-yearly carbon budgets.
We have exceeded them so far, but down the line any backsliding will attract ‘lawfare’ by eco zealots - to the detriment of us all.
It’s worth remembering that delaying the ban on new sales of internal combustion engines only brings us into line with the EU.
And this week, Mr Macron decided to cancel France’s ban on new gas boilers, saying he could not leave rural areas ‘without a solution’.
Nor can we.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak is denounced for an act of national ‘self-harm’.
What nonsense.
It’s a dose of common sense and leadership that the country’s crying out for.