Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel on 27 April (HL7831), what checks are carried out to ensure that Israeli export goods originate from Israel and not from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not covered by any United Kindgom trade agreement, so do not receive tariff preferences. Should HMRC have reasonable doubts regarding the origin of an imported good, or suspect that a certificate of origin has been erroneously completed, then a verification of the good’s origin can be requested.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they require businesses importing from Israel to specify that their products do not originate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The existing United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement requires that goods originating in Israel are declared as such upon import into the United Kingdom.
Goods imported from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not entitled to benefits from preferential trade and we are committed to maintaining that approach.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by UK National Contact Point that JCB was in breach of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and what steps they are taking to ensure that UK companies adhere to those guidelines.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The UK National Contact Point (UK NCP), which operates independently of the Department for International Trade, has not found that JCB violated human rights. However, in line with the OECD Guidelines, the UK NCP has advised JCB to develop a policy commitment to respect human rights and to carry out human rights due diligence in supply chains.
The UK NCP will request an update from JCB on the implementation of its recommendations in a year’s time and in the interim is available to provide support as necessary.
As part of its commitment to the OECD Guidelines, the UK NCP promotes the Guidelines to business, NGOs and trade unions, and is available to provide advice on adhering to the recommendations it contains.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to approve (1) investments, (2) loans, or (3) loan guarantees, for natural gas projects in states which do not have long-term decarbonisation plans.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
On 12 December 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the British government will no longer provide any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, apart from a small number of tightly-bound exceptions that are still to be determined. The date of implementation of the new policy will be determined following the consultation that was launched on the same day.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue (1) to provide export finance support to, and (2) to make investments in, overseas fossil fuel projects in states which do not have long-term decarbonisation plans in line with the UN Paris Agreement.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
On 12 December 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the British government will no longer provide any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, apart from a small number of tightly-bound exceptions that are still to be determined. The date of implementation of the new policy will be determined following the consultation that was launched on the same day.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total carbon emissions associated with fossil fuel projects funded through (1) Official Development Assistance, and (2) UK Export Finance, in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, and (c) 2020.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
UK Export Finance (UKEF) defines fossil fuels projects as those related to the extraction, production, transportation and refining of crude oil, natural gas or coal and fossil-fuel fired power stations.
Until 31 March 2020 UKEF’s collected projected annual operational CO2-equivalent (CO2e) Scope 1 and Scope 2* emissions of projects only where they fell under the scope of the OECD Council Recommendation on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (OECD Common Approaches) or the Equator Principles and where they were expected to exceed 25 000 tonnes CO2e annually. The table below is compiled on that basis and uses the latest emissions data known to UKEF for the total carbon emissions associated with fossil fuel projects funded through UKEF in 2018, 2019 and 2020:
(*Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.)
Projects currently in operations phase (operational carbon emissions)
Financial Year UKEF funding agreed (signed) | UKEF support effective (funding provided) | Estimated carbon emissions in tonnes of CO2e per annum |
2018 | Yes | 18,030,000 |
2020 | No | 26,804,725 |
Estimated emissions for projects supported but not yet in operation (still in construction phase, hence no actual operational carbon emissions to date)
Financial Year UKEF funding agreed (signed) | UKEF support effective (funding provided) | Estimated carbon emissions in tonnes of CO2e per annum during future operations |
2018 | Yes | 15,257,820 |
2019 | Yes | 8,178,670 |
2020 | No | 3,600,000 |
With regards to the period from 1 April 2020, emissions information has not yet been collated within UKEF, but UKEF will make climate-related financial disclosures in its
accounts, in line with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD’s) recommendations, as soon as practicable following the close of the 2020/21 financial year. For 2020-21 this disclosure will include the type of emissions data described above and in addition will include information on UKEF's governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets regarding climate change financial risks.
We do not hold data for estimated carbon emissions associated with past fossil fuel projects funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what restrictions they have placed, or plan to put in place, on the export of testing kits and requisite materials to countries in Africa.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Department for International Trade has not introduced any trade restrictions on the export of testing kits and requisite materials to countries in Africa.