Britain’s plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are “immovable” but it is time to review proposals for homeowners to replace gas boilers with heat pumps, Michael Gove has said.

Asked on Times Radio if the petrol and diesel ban was an immovable target, the levelling up secretary said: “Yes.” But, on the question of targets to install heat pumps in new homes, he said: “That is one area that I do think that we need to review … it’s important that new homes meet net zero standards but one of the challenges that we have is with our existing housing stock.”

Gove was speaking after Rishi Sunak signalled on Monday that the government could delay or even abandon green policies that imposed a direct cost on consumers, as he came under pressure from the Conservative right to create a dividing line with Labour at the next election.

Downing Street confirmed the government would “continually examine and scrutinise” measures including a ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, phasing out gas boilers by 2035, energy efficiency targets for private rented homes and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

However, Gove said the proposed ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 would not change but used a round of broadcast interviews on Tuesday to take aim at Labour’s environmental policies and activists such as Just Stop Oil.

There was a need to ensure that support for environmental policies did not “curdle” among the public at a time of a cost of living crisis, he said, citing the Netherlands, where he said there had been a “backlash” among some members of the public. A new populist party led by farmers fighting cuts to nitrogen emissions were among the big winners in key Dutch elections in march.

“We have seen in the course of the last month three of the hottest days that the planet has had in reported history, so naturally [taking] appropriate steps to mitigate the impact of climate change is absolutely central,” Gove said on Sky News, when asked about new findings that human-caused climate crisis was undeniably to blame for the deadly heatwaves that had struck Europe and the US in recent weeks.

Gove drew what he characterised as a distinction between “thoughtful” policies to respond to this and others, such as the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) scheme, which “was about asking hard-working people to pay more during a cost of living crisis”.

Groups such as Just Stop Oil were “more interested in dividing the world into the damned and the saved”, he told Sky News, adding: “We saw recently in the Netherlands that an inflexible approach to environmental rules actually led to a backlash and it now has a significant body of people who are unhappy about the steps being taken.”

Nevertheless, Sunak faces renewed pressure to stick to previous promises on net zero after a cross-party group of MPs and peers warned him that Britain was sending “mixed signals” on the environment.

In a letter to the prime minister, parliamentarians including the Conservative former environment minister Zac Goldsmith and the former Labour environment secretary Hilary Benn called on Sunak to demonstrate climate leadership by rejecting new fossil fuel projects such as the Rosebank oilfield and focus on green policies.

They said: “The government should concentrate its efforts on making action on net zero easier, including by lifting the ban on onshore wind, embedding a net zero test across government and within the planning system, and accelerating the rollout of energy efficiency measures, which will bring bills down permanently.”

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Gove’s comments came after the prime minister said the drive to reach the UK’s net zero targets should not “unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives” amid a rethink of his green agenda after last week’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection.

However, environmental groups could challenge any move to water-down green policies in court as the government has a legal obligation to set out in detail how it will meet its net zero target by 2050 with clear carbon budgets for various sectors.

Cameron Smith, of the Conservative Environment Network, said: “The lesson from the Uxbridge byelection is that environmental action is only popular if it’s fair and affordable.

“Ulez expansion failed that test. But voters won’t reward us for ditching popular net zero policies, which will lower people’s bills, create jobs and win investment.”