My Lords, in speaking to the amendments I declare my interest as chair of the advisory committee of Weber Shandwick UK and as a non-executive director of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The Government’s policy on climate change, particularly their policy of net zero UK emissions by 2050, is a laudable one that is widely supported across this House, but regrettably one of its most notable
features is the absence of any plan to achieve it. Just last week, in answer to a Question in the House from the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, about sponsorship of COP 26 and concern that oil companies among others might use it for a spot of greenwashing, the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, told the House:
“We are looking for companies committed to reaching net zero by 2050 with a credible short-term action plan to achieve this.”—[Official Report, 6/10/20; col. 516.]
In view of that Answer, I asked him whether he did not think it was time that the Government themselves had a credible short-term action plan to meet that goal. He agreed that it was, but, sadly, that one does not exist, although it is promised—“shortly”, I think he said, which I am afraid did not give me much reassurance.
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As a consequence, despite the Government’s welcome repeated commitment to the goal of net zero and their wider climate change policies, they consistently take actions that are incompatible with reaching it. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, noted in moving this amendment, the Bill says nothing at all on climate change, which further underlines the lack of joined-up thinking in the Government’s approach. We need, therefore, to scrutinise very carefully every piece of legislation and every element of government policy to ensure we are making it easier, rather than harder, to reach our collective goal. Trade policy is no different. Consequently, we need to ensure that we have a proper assessment of our trade policy and its impact on our climate goals and our international obligations. As part of that assessment, we need to understand how trade remedy measures align with those international environmental obligations. Amendment 77, as we have heard, provides exactly that important analysis, and Amendment 83A addresses the economic interest test.
As my noble friend Lady Bowles said, it is important to ensure that the unique factor of climate change has a role in that economic test. In recent years, there has been a tendency, as noble Lords may be aware, for countries to resort increasingly to unilateral trade remedy measures, including against environmental goods—again, my noble friend Lady Bowles raised this issue. I give, as examples, Chinese measures against US and South Korean exports of polysilicon; EU measures against solar PV technologies, bicycles and biofuels; and US safeguard tariffs on solar cells and modules imported from China, as well as tariffs on Vietnamese and Chinese wind turbines. We have to have a way, in trade remedies, of ensuring that we are taking international and domestic environmental obligations into account. Therefore, I hope the Minister will address himself to these issues.
Given the late hour, I will not detain the Committee further, but these amendments raise very serious issues which I hope the Government will address.