Efforts to end the purchasing of oil and gas from Russia appear to have resulted in a surge in imports from other authoritarian regimes, including Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to data from the Office for National Statistics analysed by the environmental research group DeSmog.
Last month the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, travelled to the Gulf to "boost trade ties" with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a trade bloc comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the
UAE. Trade between the UK and the GCC hit a record £61.3bn last year.
Fossil fuel imports from Russia fell from £600m in February 2022, the month Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, to zero in January 2023. However this was compensated for by a more than 60% annual increase in fossil fuel imports from other authoritarian petrostates.
Last year the amount spent by the UK on energy imports topped £100bn for the first time on record, with DeSmog's analysis indicating that the UK spent more than £125.7bn on fossil fuel imports from the year beginning February 2022.
The International Energy Agency has stated that, in order to achieve net zero, the world must achieve "huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas".
The UK imported £6.9bn of fossil fuels from Qatar, £3.4bn from Saudi Arabia, £2.6bn from Kuwait, and £2.5bn from the UAE.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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