Miriam Cates has hit out at Labour’s race to Net Zero with a map showing how the UK is effectively offshoring carbon emissions by importing ‘dirty steel’ from China.
The recent closures of Port Talbot’s steelworks and the UK’s last coal power station Ratcliffe-on-Soar means Britain must now import much of its steel and energy, often from countries with far less stringent environmental laws where carbon emissions remain high.
The map, compiled by Our World in Data, shows the UK’s energy consumption embedded in traded goods to be 25 per cent at the end of 2020, one of the highest rates in the world.
Net zero: concerns raised over the UK exporting carbon emissions
Our World In Data
Cates, a former Conservative MP, said: “Britain’s race to Net Zero has displaced UK carbon emissions to other countries & choked our energy-intensive industries.
“Now we have to import ‘dirty’ steel because we can’t make our own, thus increasing overall global emissions. There are no borders in the atmosphere.”
Claire Bullivant, editor of Conservative Post, wrote: “China, the largest polluter on the planet, is set to benefit from Labour’s shortsightedness.
“We’ll import steel from Chinese factories belching out carbon, then ship it halfway across the world to build our ‘green’ energy projects and then offset it on paper to hit our self-congratulatory carbon targets.
“Labour can wave around their emissions reduction certificates all they like, but if they’re just outsourcing our carbon footprint to China, who are they really fooling?”
Concerns over Britain’s outsourcing of carbon emissions have thrown doubt on GB Energy’s mission to kickstart a green revolution in Britain and lead the world in reducing emissions.
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Labour’s new state-run energy company, which has been promised £8.3billion in funding, will “make Britain a clean-energy superpower, with a fully decarbonised power system by 2030,” according to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
But voters have been quick to point out that importing products which have emitted vast carbon emissions makes something of a mockery of this claim.
Martin Edwards said: “Real net zero as opposed to ‘cheats’ net zero- considers the end-to-end supply chain from component material sourcing through to end-of-life management.
“Just shoving emissions elsewhere and/or not having end-of-life reuse/recycling is fooling no-one.”