The Prime Minister hasn’t gone far enough, it’s time to put all net zero policies on hold - GP Taylor

Rishi Sunak has gone from a net zero to political hero. At last, the man has finally come up with a sensible approach that many people in Yorkshire agree with. I realise that this is just a cynical attempt to win votes at the election, but I don’t care.

All the illiberal chains placed upon us in the vain pursuit of the unachievable will hopefully be swept away.

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The Prime Minister said he is “slamming the brakes” on “hare-brained schemes” such as blanket 20mph speed limits and low traffic neighbourhoods.

It comes as the Labour-run Welsh Government decided to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph for restricted roads.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex. PIC: Danny Lawson/PA WirePrime Minister Rishi Sunak during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex. PIC: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex. PIC: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

He added: “What we want to make sure is that local communities are not having these things imposed upon them, forced on them.

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“We’ve seen that happening in Wales. That’s not right. And we’re going to take a different approach to this.”

But when the Prime Minister said he was pulling back from the war on cars, he didn’t go far enough. Now is the time for all the net zero policies to be put on hold. Green taxes must be abolished and Britain must become a world leader in nuclear power. We need energy security.

Politicians have to understand that the majority of British people do not want Ulez, Clean Air Zones, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, 15-Minute Cities, or electric cars that are far more harmful to the environment than their petrol counterparts.

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Climate change is happening just as it has over millions of years. If you look at temperatures throughout history, we have had significant warm periods and even a little ice ages. The planet does this. We need Co2 in the atmosphere to feed plants and trees. In turn they give off oxygen which we need to live. Too little Co2 and the world dies.

Humans must learn to adapt rather than run around like headless chickens spouting rubbish that the earth is going to melt and we will all be boiled in our own sweat.

Yes, we have to do more to fight pollution on land, in our air, rivers and seas. I took a vow never to fly again, I limit my car usage and do not eat processed food. Every little helps.

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I do this not to stop climate change, but to stop pollution which is the biggest threat to our planet.

According to a Civitas report, the latest estimate for the cost of net zero in the UK is £120 per week per household for each of the next 27 years.

We would only lower global temperatures by 0.008 C by 2100 compared with not doing it. How can a working-class family afford this?

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The likely cost of green policies and legislation will be at least £4.58 trillion, well over three times official estimates of £1.3 trillion stated by the Climate Change Committee. That works out at over six thousand pounds for every household. Are you willing to pay for that as China and India blast the world with contaminating smog and we create just 1 per cent?

Two-thirds of the world's wind turbines are made in China in factories powered by coal fired electricity. They are put on polluting ships and brought halfway around the world and erected on a once beautiful hilltop.

Rishi is right in saying that a big stick and no carrot approach to climate change will not work. These policies come directly from the World Economic Forum handbook. An organisation that admits it has infiltrated the cabinets of governments around the world with its extreme net zero policies. Just look on its website and see how many politicians are members.

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Self-appointed climate tzar Bill Gates does not believe that planting trees would stop climate change. He said planting trees was “complete nonsense”.

This comes from a man who has four, gas guzzling, polluting, private jets as well as investment plans to cut down 70 million trees and bury them to prevent carbon release.

Ridiculously, the NHS wants to ban anaesthetic gas by early next year in an attempt to meet net zero targets - despite a top scientist claiming the move is 'not supported by climate science'.

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These are the sort of policies that people on my street do not want. Yes, we need to adopt a more responsible and caring attitude to our beautiful planet, but we do not and will not be imprisoned in our homes by climate lockdowns and net zero.

We do not have the infrastructure to recharge millions of electric cars and when the wind stops blowing and the sun stops shining, what do we do? Import more expensive electric from Holland?

Now is the time for Britain to go nuclear. British power should be in the hands of British people and a nationalised power system is the only thing that will work. I believe that so far, net zero has been a get rich quick scheme for international companies, funded off the back of the British taxpayer. This is money stolen out of our pockets and it has to stop.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster who lives in Yorkshire.