Lord Dixon Smithasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the import of goods, including food, enables the transfer of a part of the United Kingdom's national consumption of goods and services producing carbon dioxide to the economies of other countries; and [HL4694]
What effect the import of goods, including food, by the United Kingdom had on emissions of carbon dioxide from all sources, including emissions occuring from production and transportation, in each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003; and [HL4728]
Whether they can provide data on the effect which the import of goods, including food, had on total global emissions, including emissions occurring from production and transportation, of carbon dioxide in each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. [HL4729]
§ Lord WhittyUnder internationally agreed guidelines, carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of goods are reported in the greenhouse gas inventory of the country in which the goods are produced. For the UK also to report these emissions would be double counting. There is therefore no transfer of emissions to or from the UK when goods are imported or exported.
The Government have not estimated the impact of importation or exportation of goods separately from the national emissions by state, or global emissions in total.
Lord Dixon Smithasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of United Kingdom imported goods, including food, come from countries not subject to emissions targets under the Kyoto protocol. [HL4695]
§ Lord WhittyIn 2003, the latest year for which data are available, 33.9 per cent of total United Kingdom imports of goods, including food, came from countries not subject to emissions targets under the Kyoto protocol. This percentage includes the 10 per cent of total UK imports from the United States of America, the 1 per cent from Russia and the 0.8 per cent from Australia.