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Letter: The import of meat under new trade deals to Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP

1. Outline

This is a letter from Lord Deben, Chair of the Climate Change Committee, to the Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. It outlines the Climate Change Committee’s position on meat consumption and importation in delivery of the Sixth Carbon Budget. 

2. Key messages

  • The agriculture sector has an important role to play in delivery of Net Zero which must not be compromised by a decision to allow the importation of meat with a higher carbon footprint than our own.
  • In our Sixth Carbon Budget advice, we advised that consumption of meat should fall by at least 20% by 2030.
  • Our advice also makes clear that we cannot ask UK farmers to meet the high standards our carbon budgets require while importing food from nations that produce meat with higher emissions. This is particularly important in Northern Ireland.

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