Green groups in last-ditch bid to block UK’s Australia trade deal
Environmental campaigners have launched a last-ditch legal bid to prevent or delay the UK’s trade deal with Australia, owing to concerns over its impacts on the climate and the natural world.
A group of seven environmental and farming organisations has filed a formal complaint alleging that the UK government breached international law in signing the deal, which they fear is about to pass into law without any further in-depth parliamentary scrutiny.
Opposition is also building within the House of Lords, with several peers telling the Guardian of their reservations that the trade deal could pass while the government is under a caretaker prime minister and parliament in the grips of the Conservative leadership contest.
The green groups – including WWF, Sustain, Green Alliance, Compassion in World Farming, the Soil Association, the Trade Justice Movement and the Tenant Farmers’ Association – have taken the legal action under the Aarhus convention, an international agreement that requires public consultation on decisions by the government or public sector that have an impact on the environment.
Their complaint could also have an impact on future trade deals, as the government could be told it must include more input from the UK public in future deals.
Under the Australian trade deal deal, the UK could open up to Australian beef and other farm products that are subject to lower welfare requirements, including on the use of antibiotics on livestock, and on the use of harmful pesticides, than are legal in the UK.
Research for green groups also shows that the trade deal could have a severe effect on deforestation in Australia, by encouraging more land to be turned to ranching and to grain production for herds.
Several peers told the
Read more on theguardian.com
