A death knell
The Australian trade deal is a death knell, not in itself but because it is a signal that in the Government’s thinking Brexit is more important than climate and we are not going to take the all-out climate action we need to. It will increase emissions by transporting goods long distances rather than resourcing them closer to home. It will drive small British farmers out of business by undercutting them with food products produced in cheap extremely uninvironmentally friendly conditions. It aligns us with a country that has no intention of ceasing to mine coal. The Government has hinted it may even contain Investor State Dispute clauses that would enable multinationals to sue governments before secret courts if they try to take action on climate that might reduce profits. There will be lots of green talk of course. But prepare your kids for the hell on earth we are bequeathing to them.
