Despite the government’s own climate adviser calling it “wishful thinking,” Rishi Sunak insists the UK will meet its net zero targets.

He said that after overhauling some green policies, he is not slowing down efforts to combat climate change.

According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK has “moved backwards” because of the move.

In spite of this, Mr Sunak expressed confidence that the UK would reach net zero by 2050.

To grab the political agenda, the prime minister announced exemptions and delays to several key green policies, along with a 50% increase in cash incentives for gas boiler replacements.

A five-year delay in the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was a major change in his speech.

With the Conservative party trailing Labour in the polls, Mr Sunak is seeking to create dividing lines with opposition parties ahead of next year’s general election.

Mr Sunak has been signaling a shift in approach towards net zero, which means balancing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and the amount removed from it.

The president frames the changes he has made to green policies as “pragmatic” and emphasizes the costs of low-carbon technologies.

Early this year, the government’s independent advisers on cutting carbon emissions warned that the UK was already “worryingly slow” in achieving its net zero commitments.

According to Chris Stark, the chief executive of the committee, the changes announced by Mr Sunak will make it harder for the government to meet legally binding climate targets.