Manufacturers have urged the Treasury to reverse its apparent decision to cancel a review of the effects of resource depletion and climate impacts on industry and economic growth.
The planned cross-departmental study was killed off by Dave Ramsden, chief economist at the Treasury, despite being supported by the departments of business, energy and the environment, among others, according to emails uncovered by freedom of information requests seen by the Finantial Times.
Many businesses are concerned changing weather patterns and rising populations will create a natural resources crunch that could push up costs of key commodities to record levels.
There are also fears that critical materials, such as the rare earths used in many electronic goods and green energy technologies, could become even scarcer, potentially undermining the viability of whole industries.
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