Rishi Sunak watering down green pledges not a ‘cynical ploy’ but what is ‘right’, says business secretary

Published

2 years ago

September 21, 2023

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Rishi Sunak’s watering down of climate pledges is not a “cynical ploy” – but is rather the prime minister doing “what is right”, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said.

Last night, Mr Sunak announced a raft of changes to the UK’s climate pledges, including delaying the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by five years to 2035.

The prime minister explained that he was making the changes as the previous plans were unaffordable and unachievable.

Politics latest: Minister makes dig at Tory peer’s wealth as she defends PM’s net zero rollback

However, as Sky science and technology editor Tom Clarke explained, the decision seemed to be more about politics – and the general election expected next year – than the climate.

And Ms Badeonch told Sky News this morning: “This is not some sort of cynical ploy.”

“This is the right thing to do, and I fully support the prime minister.”

Mr Sunak defended his change of direction this morning, telling the BBC that the UK’s decarbonising ambitions are “more ambitious than pretty much any major economy in the world”.

The move has been welcomed by some Conservative MPs, who, believing it may be popular with voters, have been calling for green policies to be delayed to avoid exacerbating the cost of living crisis.

But it has been opposed by sections of the business community, opposition parties, and campaigners – including Al Gore.

One of the critics of the move was Lord Goldsmith, a Conservative former minister.

Ms Badenoch said: “I know Zac Goldsmith very well. He is a friend… I fundamentally disagree with what he has said.

“We are listening to the concerns people are raising with us. Most people in this country do not have the kind of money that he has.”

Last week, Ms Badenoch visited the BMW MINI plant in Oxford as the company announced it would build its next generation electric vehicles there, securing government funding in the process.

She was asked if yesterday’s roll-back was known about when she announced the deal.

The business secretary said: “Well, I had been making representations to the prime minister – he had not made his decision known to all of us.

“But these were conversations that we were having, So I’m quite pleased that this has happened.”

Sam Coates: Climate changes may jar with Sunak’s image as a stable leader

The car industry was one of the most vocal critics of the government’s changes, as many had planned to stop selling ICE vehicles in seven years time.

Ford was the most sceptical, saying that the new path undermined the “ambition, commitment and consistency” needed for the UK.

Ms Badenoch pointed out the US car giant made the statement “without even hearing what the announcement was”, and added that Toyota welcomed the move.

When asked about criticism from the chief executive of EON – who claimed the changes would mean people have to live in draughty homes – Ms Badenoch urged the leader of the energy giant to “actually look at what the prime minister announced”.

Daisy Powell-Chandler, the head of energy and environment at polling company Public First, explained to Sky News how the public tends to hold a dim view of parties that water down green policies.

She said: “The public aren’t very keen on that, including Conservative and Labour swing voters.

“Most people think that the government should be doing more rather than less to reach net zero.

“So about three times more people think the government should be doing more on the environment than think they should be doing less.

“And there’s an extraordinary consensus right across the age range. For example, climate change these days is amongst people’s tier one concerns.

“It’s just below things like the NHS, but it’s still up there in the top five on most trackers.”

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Sarah Jones, Labour’s shadow industry and decarbonisation minister, told Sky News that her party would return the deadline for ICE sales to 2030, but would not unpick other parts of the changes announced yesterday.

She said that on heat pumps, for example, the government “has utterly failed” to get close to the previous target, and that it was more important to focus on insulating homes first.

Politics

OCC boss says ‘no justification’ to judge banks and crypto differently

Published

2 hours ago

December 9, 2025

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OCC boss says ‘no justification’ to judge banks and crypto differently

Crypto companies seeking a US federal bank charter should be treated no differently than other financial institutions, says Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Gould told a blockchain conference on Monday that some new charter applicants in the digital or fintech spaces could be seen as offering novel activities for a national trust bank, but noted “custody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades.”

“There is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently,” he added. “Additionally, it is important that we do not confine banks, including current national trust banks, to the technologies or businesses of the past.”

The OCC regulates national banks and has previously seen crypto companies as a risk to the banking system. Only two crypto banks are OCC-licensed: Anchorage Digital, which has held a charter since 2021, and Erebor, which got a preliminary banking charter in October.

Crypto “should have” a way to supervision

Gould said that the banking system has the “capacity to evolve from the telegraph to the blockchain.”

He added that the OCC had received 14 applications to start a new bank so far this year, “including some from entities engaged in novel or digital asset activities,” which was nearly equal to the number of similar applications that the OCC received over the last four years.

*Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould giving remarks at the 2025 Blockchain Association Policy Summit. Source:* *YouTube*

“Chartering helps ensure that the banking system continues to keep pace with the evolution of finance and supports our modern economy,” he added. “That is why entities that engage in activities involving digital assets and other novel technologies should have a pathway to become federally supervised banks.”

Gould brushes off banks’ concerns

Gould noted that banks and financial trade groups had raised concerns about crypto companies getting banking charters and the OCC’s ability to oversee them.

“Such concerns risk reversing innovations that would better serve bank customers and support local economies,” he said. “The OCC has also had years of experience supervising a crypto-native national trust bank.”