it has, however, been relatively straightforward. the decarbonisation of power and offshoring of heavy industry, for instance, accelerated an existing trend. the consumption of intermittent renewables was able to increase because fossil fuels could be relied on to provide baseload power.the next half will be much more difficult, clobbering the economy and imposing massive costs on the consumer. conscious that the public’s patience may begin to wear thin, the prime minister earlier this year promised a more “pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach” to net zero. this primarily involved pushing back the deadline for the end of new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of gas boilers – but even the new 2035 date will be a stretch.despite the subsidies and the exemptions from resident parking permits or congestion charges, only a small proportion of vehicles in the uk are currently electric.the charging infrastructure is hopelessly inadequate and battery duration is prohibitive for many. meanwhile, the government is shovelling money towards homeowners to boost heat pump uptake, yet is falling far short of its annual installation targets.the bigger problem is that rishi sunak has far less wriggle room than he might have voters believe.if the 2050 net zero target – the most consequential economic policy decision for generations, made by a piece of secondary legislation without a proper parliamentary debate – wasn’t restrictive enough, the government is obliged to set binding, five-year carbon budgets which cap the maximum amount of emissions allowed during each period. ministers face legal action if they fail to do enough to reach them, as judged in part by the apparatchiks on the climate change committee (ccc) quango.