🚨 BREAKING 🚨
New analysis by Best for Britain and @UKTradeBusiness shows replacing the trade lost between the UK and the EU since 2018 with trade from other countries could increase emissions from shipping to and from the UK by 88%. 1/
New analysis by Best for Britain and @UKTradeBusiness shows replacing the trade lost between the UK and the EU since 2018 with trade from other countries could increase emissions from shipping to and from the UK by 88%. 1/
How does this add up?
In May, the ONS reported a 23.1% fall in the trade of goods between the UK and the EU in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, trade with other countries remained relatively unaffected, falling by 0.8%. 2/
In May, the ONS reported a 23.1% fall in the trade of goods between the UK and the EU in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, trade with other countries remained relatively unaffected, falling by 0.8%. 2/
By weight, this is estimated to represent around 45.5 million tonnes which, if shipped equally to the UK’s top 5 trading partners outside the EU, could mean an estimated 88% increase in the carbon footprint of UK shipping.
That's 6.5 million tonnes of CO2. 3/
That's 6.5 million tonnes of CO2. 3/
6.5 million tonnes of CO2 is equivalent to approximately 44,000 full flights between London and New York annually.
More than four times the number of flights currently undertaken in a normal year. 4/
More than four times the number of flights currently undertaken in a normal year. 4/
To offset this increase in emissions, it’s estimated that the government would need to plant a forest around the size of Northern Ireland. Seriously. 5/
“This would be a staggering increase in emissions - and one entirely driven by this Government’s ideological opposition to the European single market," says @CarolineLucas. 6/
“The Government needs to come clean and admit the two possible outcomes from their current strategy involve either massively increasing our carbon footprint or failing to replace the trade they lost, meaning less business, fewer jobs and lower incomes," adds @pimlicat. 7/
Professor Ekins of @UCL_ISR says "it's quite simple - the farther you move goods, other things being equal, the more emissions you create and so increasing our carbon footprint is pretty much baked into increasing trade with countries like Australia and the US over Europe." 8/
Before and after the 2016 referendum, advocates for Brexit promoted the suggestion that the UK should do more trade with the rest of the world and not remain a member of the single market. 9/
Since then, the government has pursued this policy by agreeing new trade deals in principle with distant countries like New Zealand and Australia. They have also voiced support for the UK to join a new trade agreement, the CPTPP, on the other side of the world. 10/
This is serious. We must demonstrate climate leadership ahead of COP26 next week, and yet it appears that climate commitments are almost entirely missing from our trade strategy.
Read more here 👇 /ENDS
bestforbritain.org/replacing_lost…
Read more here 👇 /ENDS
bestforbritain.org/replacing_lost…
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