Experts to give evidence on environmental and climate commitments in UK-Australia Agreement in Principle

The session will focus on the environmental and climate commitments that the Government has made in its AIP, following reports that some climate commitments were removed due to pressure from Australia.

Wider questions about the Government’s green trade policies will also be discussed, as well as commitments made in the AIP with New Zealand

Giving evidence will be:

• Dr Emily Lydgate, Deputy Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Reader, University of Sussex Law
• George Riddell, Director of Trade Strategy, Ernst & Young
• Anna Sands, Trade Policy Specialist, WWF

Questions the committee is likely to ask include:

• What is your assessment of the Green Trade report, which was published by the Board of Trade over the summer? Does it set out a comprehensive green trade strategy for the UK?
• What are the benefits of including climate and environmental commitments in trade agreements; and to what extent can they support discussions and commitments made in other international fora?
• It has been reported that specific references to the Paris Agreement were removed from the UK-Australia Future Trade Agreement due to pressure from Australia. What is the significance of their removal, and what are the potential impacts?
• How would you mark both the Australia AIP and the New Zealand AIP in terms of how good they are at including commitments on climate and the environment?
• How well do the Government’s scoping assessments capture the potential climate and environmental impacts of trade deals with Australia and New Zealand? Do they focus on the right areas and use the right methodology?

The session will take place virtually on Wednesday 8 December at 4:00 p.m. and can be followed on Parliament TV.