Cost of living: Price of groceries could go up by £1.7bn as carbon dioxide price surges
The price of groceries could surge by £1.7bn due to the cost of carbon dioxide rising by as much as 3000%, new analysis has shown.
The UK’s food and drink sector could end up footing the mammoth extra bill for liquid CO2 if gas prices remain high, according to research by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
The gas is used in a raft of sectors but particularly in food and drink, including in the slaughter of pigs and chickens, to add fizz to beer and soft drinks, and in packaging foods safely.
Rampant inflation amid the cost of living crisis has caused production of carbon dioxide to be disrupted, leaving industries reliant on the gas impacted by heavy ramifications.
Commercial energy prices across the country have also rocketed over the past year, with the war in Ukraine pushing up costs.
The price of a tonne of liquid CO2 is up to 3000% higher than it was a year ago, currently as much as £3000 per tonne, compared to just £100 per tonne one year ago, the ECIU said.
As a result, production at a key ammonia site, where CO2 is created as a by-product, was temporarily halted in August.
Its owner CF Fertilisers said: “At current natural gas and carbon prices, CF Fertilisers UK’s ammonia production is uneconomical, with marginal costs above £2,000 per tonne and global ammonia prices at about half that level.”
Fay Jones, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and chair of the Farming All-Party Parliamentary Group, said: “The price of gas is adding thousands of pounds to families’ energy bills.
“Now, like last autumn, it could affect supplies of CO2 and of fertilisers, and drive up the price of everything from beer to bacon.”
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Prices of cheapest foods surge
‘It could bring the food and drink system to its knees’
There are now fears that gas prices could rise even further, or that suppliers will be cut off completing, leading to more increases in the price of liquid CO2 or a repeat of last year’s shortage.
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It comes as businesses in the food and drink sector are already paying significantly more for energy than even a few months ago.
In the first quarter of 2022, businesses like pubs, farms, and supermarkets paid 71% more for gas than in the first three months of 2021.
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Matt Williams, climate and land programme lead at the ECIU, said: “The UK’s reliance on fossil fuels affects more than just families’ energy bills. It could bring the food and drink system to its knees.
“Rising energy costs are creating an extra cost of hundreds of millions of pounds in the food and drink industry that customers may struggle to avoid.
“If high gas prices, or even blackouts, force factories to close it could create real problems for farmers and the food and drink industry.”
Prince Harry has lost his legal challenge over the level of security he receives when he is in the UK.
The ruling was handed down by Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Friday – following the two-day appeal hearing at the same court last month.
He told the court that while the Duke of Sussex‘s safety concerns were both “powerful and moving”, his “sense of grievance” did not “translate into a legal argument”.
“The conclusion, in my judgment, with which my colleagues Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edith agreed, was that the Duke of Sussex’s appeal would be dismissed,” he said.
Prince Harry, 40, was challenging the original decision by High Court judge Sir Peter Lane in February 2024 that the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) was right to downgrade his high-level police protection for when he is back in the country.
Ravec, the body responsible for the security of high-level figures, made their decision in February 2020 – after Harry and Meghan stopped working as senior royals and went to live in Canada and later the US.
Harry, who was not present for the judgment, received full, publicly funded security protection up until that point.
The Home Office, which has legal responsibility for Ravec’s decisions, said security decisions were now taken on a “case-by-case” basis.
The Duke of Sussex outside the Royal Courts Of Justice during the two-day hearing. Pic: PA
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After stepping back from royal duties, the duke argued that his private protection team in the US no longer had access to the UK intelligence information needed to keep his wife and children safe.
During the appeal hearing in April, which he travelled to the UK to attend in person, his barrister Shaheed Fatima KC said his safety, security, and life were “at stake”, and that the “human dimension” of the case should not be forgotten.
She said Harry believed he was “singled out” for “inferior treatment” and that Ravec did not follow its own “terms of reference” when making their decision.
But Sir Geoffrey said on Friday: “The duke was in effect stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by Ravec.
“Outside the UK, he was outside the cohort, but when in the UK, his security would be considered as appropriate.”
Therefore, Ravec’s decision was “understandable and perhaps predictable”, he told the court.
The duke could now take the case to the Supreme Court, but he would have to prove there is public interest in the case being heard there.
Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg told Sky News after the judgment: “What the Supreme Court will look at is whether this is a case of general public interest. It seems to me it’s one of very, very specific importance to Prince Harry.” Therefore, he “wouldn’t hold out much hope”.
UK
Comedian and actor Russell Brand bailed after appearing in court charged with rape and sexual assault
Russell Brand has been granted bail after appearing in court charged with sexual offences including rape.
During the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the 49-year-old spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, and address, also confirming to the judge that he understood his bail conditions.
Russell Brand outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Pic: Reuters
Brand, who has been living in the US, was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape – as well as two counts of sexual assault – in connection with incidents involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.
The allegations were first made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.
The comedian and actor did not say anything as he entered the court
The comedian, actor and author has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
Appearing before Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring, Brand stood to confirm his name and address. He then sat down while the charges were read to the court.
Brand surrounded by media. Pic: Reuters
Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area. She alleges that after meeting Brand at a theatrical performance and chatting to him later in her hotel room, she returned from the toilet to find he’d removed some of his clothes. She claims he asked her to take photos of him, and then raped her.
The court also heard of another of Brand’s alleged victims, who has accused him of indecently assaulting her in 2001 by “grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a male toilet” at a TV station.
Brand is accused of the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman he met in 2004 in London. He is accused of grabbing her breasts before allegedly pulling her into a toilet.
The final complainant is a radio worker who has accused Brand of sexually assaulting her between 2004 and 2005 by “kissing” and “grabbing” her breasts and buttocks.
Brand leaves court. Pic: Reuters
The judge referred the case up to the Crown Court – informally known as the Old Bailey.
Brand was asked to supply both his US and UK addresses to the court.
When asked if he understood his bail conditions, he replied, “Yes”.
The case was adjourned and Brand, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, was told he must appear at the Old Bailey on 30 May.
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