Sunak accused of ‘economic illiteracy’ over pledge to block onshore windfarms

theguardian.com:

Opposition parties have accused Rishi Sunak of “economic illiteracy” and a lack of seriousness over the climate emergency after he announced a plan for the UK to become energy independent while at the same time making it harder to use onshore wind.

Before the fifth and final round of MPs’ voting for the Conservative party leadership on Wednesday, the former chancellor set out what he called an “energy sovereignty strategy”, intended to achieve UK energy independence by 2045 at the latest.

But in the same announcement, Sunak pledged that as prime minister he would make it more difficult to build onshore windfarms in England.

Ministers had been considering a relaxation of planning rules for onshore wind that were tightened under David Cameron’s government in 2014 following pressure from Tory activists who disliked wind turbines in rural areas. The view is shared by a number of Conservative MPs.

The 2014 change required more local consultation and acted as a de facto halt on new developments in England. Planning rules vary across UK nations.

The possible relaxation was potentially part of an energy independence plan, unveiled in April, which opted not to change the planning rules but did say the government would look at offering communities cheaper electricity bills in return for their consent for windfarms.

But Wednesday’s announcement by Sunak’s campaign said: “In recognition of the distress and disruption that onshore windfarms can often cause, Rishi has also promised to scrap plans to relax the ban on onshore windfarms in England, providing certainty to rural communities.”

Instead, he would put the 2045 self-sufficiency target into law and split up the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, creating a new