Rishi Sunak rejects Tory calls for a referendum on 2050 target for Net Zero as PM insists there’s ‘agreement’ on reducing Britain’s carbon emissions

• PM says there’s ‘agreement’ within Britain on action to tackle carbon emissions 

Rishi Sunak tonight rejected Tory calls for a referendum on the Government’s pledge to reach net zero by 2050.

The Prime Minister insisted he was ‘committed’ to the target and claimed there was existing ‘agreement’ within Britain on action to tackle carbon emissions.

The Tories’ surprise win in last month’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election – largely thanks to a local backlash against the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – has seen some MPs to call for a review of green policies.

This includes backbenchers demanding the Government to put the 2050 net zero target to a nationwide vote.

Under the objective signed into law by Theresa May when she was PM, the UK is legally obliged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per cent from 1990 levels over the next 27 years.

Rishi Sunak has rejected Tory calls for a referendum on the Government’s pledge to reach net zero by 2050

The PM said he ‘cared’ about the environment that would be left to his two daughters Anoushka and Krishna (centre left)

Tory MPs Karl McCartney and Marco Longhi have been among those pushing the PM for a public vote on the 2050 target

Speaking to ITV News this evening, Mr Sunak reaffirmed that he was ‘committed to net zero’.

‘I have two young daughters, I care about the environment that we – I – leave them, ‘ the PM said.

‘My job is to leave it in a better state than I found it.

‘But I think the path to net zero has got to be one that we tread carefully, that we bring everyone along with us on that journey, and we make that journey in a proportionate and a pragmatic way.

‘So, my view is I’m committed to it. We will get there.

‘We will bring people along with us as we do, we will not unnecessarily burden them with extra hassle or extra cost as we do it. That is my overall approach to net zero.’

When asked whether he would consider putting the 2050 deadline to a public vote, Mr Sunak appeared to rule it out, saying he thought there was ‘agreement on it’.

‘I think most people are committed to getting to net zero, but getting there in a proportionate and pragmatic way,’ he added.

‘That seems to me that common-sense approach to doing this, I think that has broad support.’

The PM’s stance is set to disappoint Tory ‘Red Wall’ MPs who had been pushing for a net zero referendum.

Marco Longhi, the MP for Dudley North, told the Telegraph this week: ‘Given the complexity of this issue and its far-reaching consequences, I believe that involving the public through a referendum is right.

‘A proper debate has never been had, and it should be.

‘A referendum would require the Government to communicate the intricacies of the 2050 net zero target to the public, fostering a better understanding of the challenges and benefits.’

Karl McCartney, the Lincoln MP, agreed that Mr Sunak should ‘rethink the headlong rush for net zero’, adding: ‘The establishment was solely focused on chasing approval from London’s woke eco-zealot crowd who have no clue what happens in the real world.

‘Just like Brexit, the Government needs to make sure the public are on board with such radical changes, and that they hear the arguments and can make an informed decision.’

Mr Sunak was also asked by ITV News about Greenpeace targeting his constituency home while he was away on holiday in the US with his family.

A group of demonstrators scaled the Sunaks’ Grade II-listed constituency manor house in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to protest against his oil and gas licences announcement.

The activists draped an oil-black fabric from the roof, staying there from about 8am to 1.15pm, when they were arrested and later bailed as part of an ongoing investigation by North Yorkshire Police.

The PM suggested he agreed that it should not have been possible for protesters to get to his Yorkshire home, but said it ‘wouldn’t be right’ for him to comment further following the arrests.

Mr Sunak said he had given the police additional powers to crack down on ‘these kinds of eco extremists, these eco zealots, the Just Stop Oil and others who are disrupting all these sporting events over the summer in particular.’

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