UK climate rollback ‘not necessarily bad’ for innovation

Climate innovators reassured policies “have not really changed”, despite Sunak watering down net zero pledges

Rishi Sunak’s decision to roll back some UK net zero targets is “not necessarily bad” for climate innovation, a new report has found, despite widespread condemnation of the plan at the time.

Scientists, politicians, climate campaigners and companies reacted with anger and concern in September after the prime minister announced plans to water down the government’s climate-change commitments, including by delaying the phasing-out of diesel and petrol vehicles by five years, to 2035.