Can Rishi Sunak rebuild UK’s green agenda after Truss?

With the bar so low, many are thrilled just to have someone in power with a reputation of listening to experts and following data. It really is that simple.

‘I was persuaded he is part of the broad consensus in the Conservative party that we need to leave the environment in a better state than we left it,’ says Philip Dunne, chair of the environment audit committee in parliament.

While Sunak himself isn’t regarded as an ardent environmentalist, he regularly takes advice from those who are more ecologically aligned within his constituency. Previously, he commissioned extensive research into the economics of biodiversity, and expressed solidarity with plans for a net-zero Britain.

With Truss out, that’s not to say the pressure is off by any means. Climate change activists have been ever-present in the mainstream media since Truss’ appointment and are bringing the general public up to speed on provocative policy changes.

In particular, folk are eagle-eyeing a new draft of the EU law bill which threatens potentially 570 pieces of environment legislation. If Sunak attempts to sweep this under the rug without review, any reputation he’s built up to date won’t carry much weight with the people.

He will also be expected to enforce bans on newly green-lit fracking licences, given we now know that talk of better energy security and slashing prices was nonsense. Whether he backs up previous talk of record investment to better insulate the UK remains to be seen.

At this early avenue, all we know is that Truss has dug a serious hole for the Tories, and Sunak will have his work cut out to emerge from it favourably.