PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak does not understand climate breakdown and should revoke all new oil and gas exploration licences, an expert has said.

Professor Bill McGuire, of University College London, said he was not surprised that Mr Sunak did not mention climate change in his new year speech on Wednesday.

According to a YouGov poll, the environment ranks fourth in the public’s list of the most important issues facing the country.

But it was left out of Mr Sunak’s five-point pledge to halve inflation, grow the economy, curb illegal Channel crossings and bring down the national debt and NHS waiting times.

Prof McGuire said: “A PM who issues more than 100 new oil and gas exploration licences and gives the go-ahead for a new coalmine clearly hasn’t a clue or simply doesn’t care, or perhaps both.

“The new oil and gas exploration licences need to be revoked and all subsidies to the fossil fuel sector stopped, or better still switched to renewables.

“There also needs to be a massive programme of insulation, to reduce energy costs and to make people’s homes less like furnaces during the baking summers that are becoming the norm.”