Rishi Sunak is pumping billions of kilos of taxpayer money into anti-climate change expertise that consultants say will barely make a dent.

We’ve by no means seen as massive an indication – and by no means so near dwelling – of the carnage local weather change can wreak on our planet because the wildfires that tore via Europe final month. But whereas the embers had been nonetheless sizzling, the Prime Minister re-committed to a thousand new drilling licences within the North Sea, giving oil and fuel corporations a shot within the arm.

And at the moment, consultants stated the “carbon capture” expertise touted by Mr Sunak as a path to internet zero whereas nonetheless burning oil and fuel would show to be a pricey, dangerous white elephant. Like a smoker switching to “light” cigarettes, it could trigger the planet barely much less harm however all it actually does is lengthen our catastrophic habit to fossil fuels.

The alternate options are deeply unsexy – however they work. More onshore wind farms, dwelling insulation and changing spluttering previous boilers with warmth pumps would scale back family payments and increase Britain’s vitality independence. So why, precisely, are we pumping a lot cash into this and different “green” tasks that occur to be favoured by the fossil gasoline business? Could or not it’s that oil and fuel lobbyists have held 54 cosy conferences with ministers in a matter of months? And may the thick wads of money handed to Rishi Sunak’s management marketing campaign by donors with hyperlinks to the fossil gasoline sector have something to do with it?