WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER’S ANNOUNCEMENT MEANS FOR DRIVERS AND HOUSEHOLDS
RISHI Sunak has announced a change in the Government’s approach to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. He insists the measures will reduce costs for hard-pressed families amid the cost-of-living crisis. Here’s what the changes will mean for you…
■ CARS
Mr Sunak has delayed the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by five years from 2030 to 2035. This will allow families to take advantage of the falling prices of vehicles in the coming years, if they wish to. ■ BOILERS The ban on installing oil and liquid petroleum gas boilers and new coal heating for off-gas-grid homes has been delayed to 2035, instead of them being phased out from 2026. Many of these homes are not suitable for heat pumps, so this ensures homeowners are not having to spend around £10,000 to £15,000 on upgrading their homes in just three years’ time.
The Prime Minister set an exemption to the phase-out of fossil fuel boilers, including gas, in 2035, so that households that will most struggle to make the switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives will not have to.
This is expected to cover about a fifth of homes, including off-gas-grid homes – those that will need expensive retrofitting or a very large electricity connection.The Boiler Upgrade Grant will be raised by 50% to £7,500 to help households that want to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative like a heat pump.
■ ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The Prime Minister scrapped policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties. Instead households will continue to be encouraged to do so where they can.
■ OTHERS
Mr Sunak ruled out policy ideas that would require people to share cars, eat less meat and dairy, be taxed to discourage their flying, or have seven bins in order to hit recycling targets.