Did Rishi Sunak ‘scrap’ net zero measures – or were they not even policies?

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2023

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This week, Rishi Sunak made a surprise speech announcing delays to a number of key Conservative pledges aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

But alongside a five-year delay to the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars, and various changes to promises on oil and gas boilers, the prime minister also claimed he was scrapping a number of more “heavy-handed measures” that would hit people in their pockets.

These elements have caused some controversy, with former ministers accusing him of “pretending to halt frightening proposals that simply do not exist”, and calling them “straw men” that were never even government policy.

Politics Hub: PM ‘undeterred’ by net zero backlash

However, Mr Sunak has insisted they are measures that have been “raised by very credible people about ways to meet our net zero obligations”.

So what has Mr Sunak claimed to have scrapped? And were they ever on the Tory agenda in the first place?

Compulsory carpooling

First up, the prime minister said: “The proposal for government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car – I’ve scrapped it.”

The government has sung the praises of carpooling – often referred to as lift sharing – before.

In 2022, the Department for Transport issued guidance to councils about the benefits of introducing schemes locally, saying increasing the number of people in each vehicle by 1% annually between 2022 and 2030 would remove 1.25 million cars from the road and result in an annual reduction in CO2 of 1.25 metric tons.

Encouraging carpooling was also among the recommendations made by the independent Climate Change Committee, set up as part of the Climate Change Act to advise the UK on tackling the issue.

Its members said two-thirds of car trips are undertaken with just the driver, and introducing carpool lanes could help improve the figures, while “societal pressure to increase car occupancy could play a role as the public becomes increasingly environmentally aware”.

But making carpooling compulsory was never government policy.

Recycling bins

The next policy Mr Sunak claimed to have scrapped was “the proposal that we should force you to have seven different bins in your home” for recycling.

Legislation passed in 2021 means local authorities have to arrange collections for paper, plastic, metal and glass, as well as food, garden and general household waste – but there never seems to have been a rule introduced for them to be taken in separate bins.

The government had been looking into ways to make recycling more consistent across the country, and reforms had been expected in March – though reports suggest they were delayed so as not to impact local elections.

That plan is still expected to come from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but after the prime minister’s speech it confirmed “it was never the case that seven bins would be needed by households”.

Meat taxes

Mr Sunak also said in his speech he had now scrapped “the proposal to make you change your diet – and harm British farmers – by taxing meat”.

The idea of a meat tax has been touted by a number of climate experts as an effective way to reduce emissions due to the amount of greenhouse gases created in the farming process.

In the Climate Change Committee’s report to parliament last year, they brought up the prospect of “diet change”, saying: “Cutting back [on meat] can contribute to healthier diets, reduce direct emissions from food production in the agriculture sector and also free up land that can be used for carbon sequestration.”

But the report also said there were “no policies in place to capitalise on [the] momentum” of people already reducing the amount of meat they eat.

The committee said “steps must be taken to encourage a shift to healthier diets with reduced consumption of meat and dairy”, pointing to measures adopted by local councils going plant-based at events they host, and a “unique” commitment by the Welsh government to “promote a dietary shift to a healthier and suitable diet, recognising the benefits for climate, health and wider sustainability”.

However, these are recommendations, and the government did not have a policy or plan to bring in meat taxes.

Flying taxes

In his final list of policies he had scrapped, Mr Sunak pointed to the proposal to “create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday”.

Aviation has long been a target of those wanting to cut emissions and numerous policy papers have pointed to additional taxes as a way to put people off air travel.

But it has never been looked at favourably by the Conservatives, with Mr Sunak himself cutting existing air passenger duty on domestic flights back in 2021 when he was chancellor – just days before the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Back to the Climate Change Committee report again, and it repeatedly recommends “fiscal policy” such as “taxation, quotas or a frequent flyer levy” to “increase the price of flying to reflect the high emissions cost of air travel and incentivise low-emission alternatives, e.g. rail travel”.

It also calls for improvements to broadband to encourage people to use videoconferencing instead of taking flights to meetings, as well as “fair funding mechanisms” to make greener alternatives more affordable, and says such policies could be reviewed if new technology comes on the scene to make flying more environmentally friendly.

But while the committee hammers home its point that taxes “should send clearer signals to consumers on the high emissions cost of flying”, this has not been adopted by the government as official policy.

Politics

Panama’s capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees

Published

7 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Panama's capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees</div>

Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.

Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.

Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.

In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.

Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.

Taxes, Panama, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Mayer Mizrachi*

Municipalities and states embrace digital assets

Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.

The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.

In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.

The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.

North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.

Magazine: Crypto City: The ultimate guide to Miami

Politics

Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Published

10 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation</div>

As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.

Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television

During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”

“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.

“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.

This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.

Support for stablecoin legislation is growing

The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.

Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.

Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.

Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph

Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.

The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Politics

Court grants 60-day pause of SEC, Ripple appeals case

Published

12 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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Court grants 60-day pause of SEC, Ripple appeals case

An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.

In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.

Law, Ripple, SEC, Court — *April 16 order approving a motion to hold an appeal in abeyance. Source: PACER*

The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.

However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.

Despite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.

New leadership at SEC incoming

Acting chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9.

During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered