Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated level of annual carbon emissions (1) from military sources in the UK, and (2) by UK military activities outside the UK.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Ministry of Defence carbon emissions from fuel combustion (estate and military equipment), purchased electricity and domestic business travel are reported in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. For 2019-20 the total reported emissions were 2,609,000 tCO2e. Separate figures for UK and overseas are not available.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to prevent armed opposition fighters funded by Western countries from using their arms and training against unintended targets, or acting in a way that contradicts the Government's overall strategy in the Middle East, in particular in Syria.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The US-led programme to Train and Equip members of the moderate Syrian opposition, to which the UK has contributed, incorporated a screening process to determine the suitability of candidates. The training programme itself was designed to reinforce positive behaviours and on completion, successful candidates were required to make a formal declaration committing themselves to the fight against ISIL. Efforts continue to be made to monitor the activities of such individuals and the groups to which they are affiliated, to mitigate the risk that they engage thereafter in activities inconsistent with the aims of the programme.