EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Baroness Boycott Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Boycott (CB) [V]]

During the debate on the then European Union (Future Relationship) Bill, the Prime Minister stated:

“I have always said that Brexit is not an end but a beginning, and the responsibility now rests with all of us to make the best use of the powers that we have regained … We are going to begin by fulfilling our manifesto promise to maintain the highest standards of labour and environmental regulation.”—[Official Report, Commons, 30/12/20; col. 520.]


However, this thin deal is estimated by the IFS to leave our economy 2.1% smaller this year, which means less money available to tackle our environmental challenges.

I am very glad that the fight against climate change is classified as an essential element of the agreement. This means that any serious breach can lead to the suspension or termination of all or part of the agreement, which would materially defeat the object and purpose of the Paris Agreement. It is a very high threshold, but it is one that we must rise up to meet. 

However, new analysis by the Green Alliance found that our Government are yet to announce a policy to achieve the 75% of the emissions reductions that we still need to make to achieve our 2030 climate target. Additional policies required include commitments to restore up to 60% of peatlands, raise energy efficiency standards for new homes and mandate car manufacturers to increase production of electric vehicles. There are massive implications for spending, and some reckonings say that we need an extra £22 billion for this. I do not think we can afford not to do it.

Climate change is a world problem, and we are far more likely to tackle it and our nature crisis if we co-operate with our neighbours. As many noble Lords have said, we are still part of Europe. The EU has been a long-time partner, but this new agreement has, sadly, limited some of the mechanisms we have to promote our shared ambitions—so we desperately need to find further ways in which to negotiate and new ways in which to work together. We have the potential to be both dynamic and co-operative, and in the year that we host the COP, we, as leaders, should guarantee that we co-operate with all interested parties.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)]

The noble Lord, Lord Desai, is not here, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe of Epsom.