Rishi Sunak's net zero targets U-turn has sparked criticism from several councillors, including the East Suffolk leader.

The Prime Minister announced a slew of U-turns on key net zero targets during a press conference on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak's speech was accompanied by the announcement of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, giving cash grants to replace people's boilers with a heat pump, which would be increased to £7,500.

Some councillors, however, believe this to be a big step against decarbonisation commitments.

Cllr John Ward, interim leader at Babergh council, said: "Scrapping policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties will slow decarbonisation of rural private rented properties.

"Local authorities will need other policies to incentivise landlords."

Another controversial decision was Mr Sunak's relaxation of the 2035 phase-out target for the installation of new gas boilers.

He said: "We'll never force anyone to rip out their existing boiler and replace it with a heat pump.

"This doesn't mean I'm any less committed to decarbonising our homes — quite the opposite. Rather than banning boilers before people can afford the alternative; we're going to support them to make the switch."

Cllr Debora Saw, deputy political leader at Babergh council, said: "Babergh's commitment to reaching net zero by 2030 will not be compromised.

"We recognise the threat climate change poses to the future of our communities and the impact it is having today. We live in a beautiful area, and we must protect and enhance our landscape and our wildlife habitats."

Nevertheless, councillors across the county have assured they will continue to work toward the net-zero targets they had set originally.

Cllr Andrew Stringer, the Leader of the opposition group at the county level, and cabinet member at neighbouring Mid-Suffolk council, believes the move shows the Government "is not only environmentally illiterate but also economically illiterate".

He added: "What the government has actually done is cost the public more money as we go forward and our environment dirtier.

"The longer you stave off addressing the impacts and mitigations of climate change, the more it is going to cost us in the future to sort it out.

"This is really bad news for Suffolk, the country, and the wider planet. "

Among the revelations was the deferral of a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

Cllr Caroline Topping, East Suffolk Council leader, believes this has "dented the confidence of businesses".

Several car manufacturers, such as Ford and Vauxhall, have come out to criticise the PM after having invested millions of pounds into a move to electric.

Cllr Topping continued: "The climate clock is ticking down and we cannot arbitrarily move the hands for the sake of convenience.

"The Prime Minister should recognise the critical importance of stepping up the fight against climate change and not reneging on commitments at the first opportunity."

Cllr Topping added: "We wish to assure our communities that we are unwavering in pushing ahead to hit our targets."

There were also concerns after Mr Sunak announced he had scrapped certain proposals such as taxing meat, requiring people to share cars, and the use of seven bins for recycling, all before they were ever implemented.

Cllr Stringer said: "To say we would no longer put a tax on meat, it's just trying to fearmonger people because we were never going to put a tax on meat."

Another controversial decision was Mr Sunak's relaxation of the 2035 phase-out target for the installation of new gas boilers.

He said: "We'll never force anyone to rip out their existing boiler and replace it with a heat pump.

"This doesn't mean I'm any less committed to decarbonising our homes — quite the opposite. Rather than banning boilers before people can afford the alternative; we're going to support them to make the switch."