UK national security is under severe threat from the climate crisis and the looming collapse of vital natural ecosystems, like the Amazon rainforest, according to UK intelligence chiefs.
However, the official publication of their warnings has reportedly been blocked by number 10. The joint intelligence committee’s “hard-hitting” report was due to be published this week, according to The Guardian, but has been “halted”.
“This is a very stark warning,” a source familiar with the contents told the paper. “It is very clear that the impacts on national security are very worrying.”
The Times has also reported that the report, which warns that the loss of the Amazon ecosystem could drive up food inflation and lead to mass migration, has been “blocked” by Downing Street.
Some commentators suggested the government is not willing to face the issues. Others criticised ministers for focusing solely on carbon emissions, rather than tackling the intertwined crises facing nature and climate.
Food production is the leading driver of deforestation, but appetite for the introduction of anti-deforestation laws appears to have waned under the Labour Government.
The Environment Act 2021 gave ministers the power to make it mandatory for large companies to carry out due diligence checks to ensure there is no illegal deforestation in their supply chains for forest-risk commodities such as soy, beef and palm oil. Yet four years on, successive governments have failed to enact the secondary legislation needed to put the deforestation provisions into effect.
Food retailers this year said they had been left “in limbo” by the UK government. EU deforestation regulation has also been delayed once and looks set to be pushed back again as businesses complain of complex reporting requirements and bureaucrats fear potential IT issues.
Food businesses attending a legal briefing organised by Footprint and DWF in September were told not to switch off and relax despite the delays to deforestation regulations.
