Michael Gove has warned against “treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade” and called for a relaxation of some net zero measures.

The housing secretary told The Sunday Telegraph he wants to “relax” the deadline for landlords in the private rented sector to make energy improvements to their properties.

He said the proposal to ban landlords from renting out their homes unless they pay to increase the energy performance certificate rating of their properties should be pushed back past 2028.

The upgrade required to increase a property’s energy performance could include fitting a heat pump, providing insulation or installing solar panels, which the newspaper suggested could cost thousands of pounds.

Mr Gove said: “My own strong view is that we’re asking too much too quickly… I think we should relax the pace.”

Mr Gove, who was environment secretary when the 2050 net zero pledge was made under Theresa May’s premiership, warned about “treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade” as he called for “thoughtful environmentalism”.

He also said he did not know whether the car-ban deadline was “perfectly calibrated” but said it was “achievable”.

Party leaders urged to keep green promises

It comes as both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have been urged not to drop their parties’ green policies after London mayor Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has been blamed for Labour failing to take Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

After Uxbridge became the Tories’ sole victory in a set of three by-elections on Thursday the prime minister has come under renewed pressure to dilute pledges designed to help the UK meet its pledge of having a net zero carbon economy by 2050.

Meanwhile Labour leader Sir Keir has vowed to stick with his green pledges, but said his party would need to reflect and “learn the lesson” over how they are implemented.

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Mr Khan’s team have defended his ULEZ plan, saying only one out of 10 cars driving in outer London would face the charge, with a £110m scrappage scheme available to help lower earners upgrade their vehicles.