Business leaders have criticised Rishi Sunak following his net zero U-turn, blaming the plans for causing uncertainty for business and reducing the country’s international standing.
Former Boots chief executive and former chair of Whitbread told The Guardian newspaper: “It’s bad news, not only because the UK had been world leading on net zero, but because of the uncertainty it creates around investment decisions for business.”
Also speaking to the newspaper, founder of greetings card company Moonpig commented: “I was disappointed that the government chose to push back the deadlines.”
“The shift away from fossil fuels requires long term planning and certainty. It is unhelpful when deadlines are changed.”
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In 2015, a group of 103 leaders wrote to the Daily Telegraph and praised David Cameron and George Osborne’s decision to cut corporation tax and warned that a change in course would put the recovery at risk.
Despite this, business leaders are increasingly frustrated at the changes from the Conservative government, which impact the electric vehicle industry, as well as boiler manufacturers and installers.
Leaders including Ford chair Lisa Brankin and co-founder of Northern charging network Be.EV Asif Ghafoor spoke out on Rishi Sunak’s decision to push back the ZEV mandate from 2030 to 2035 at the time.
In addition, bosses from Ikea, Nestlé and Eon also urged the government not to weaken net zero policies.
