Anyone

Archived version

Nearly 200 advocacy groups have urged [U.S.] Democratic representatives to “proactively and affirmatively” reject potential industry attempts to obtain immunity from litigation.

“We have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to…shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,” reads a letter to Congress on Wednesday. It was signed by 195 environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and Sunrise Movement; legal nonprofits including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice; and dozens of other organizations.

Over the last decade, states and municipalities have brought more than 30 lawsuits accusing big oil of intentionally covering up the climate risks of their products, and seeking potentially billions in damages. The defendants have worked to kill the cases, with limited success.

Now, with Republicans in control of the White House and both congressional chambers, advocates fear the industry will go further, pursuing total immunity from all existing and future climate lawsuits. To do so, they could lobby for a liability waiver like the one granted to the firearms industry in 2005, which has successfully blocked most attempts to hold them accountable for violence.

[...]

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19515148

Archived version

The Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein has spent more than a year working on a plan to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, and successive British governments have tried to help.

[...]

Yet this business deal could have huge ramifications that stretch far beyond the Square Mile.

That’s not just because of the many accusations that have dogged Shein for years – including forced labour in its supply chain, environmental recklessness, and tax-loophole exploitation at the expense of traditional retailers.

[...]

Jeremy Hunt did his best to reel in Shein in his final months as chancellor last year, and his successor [Rachel Reeves] has continued those efforts. Having proclaimed that economic growth is the “number-one mission” of her Government, Reeves wants to demonstrate to China that the UK is open for its business.

[...]

Shein and claims of forced labour

[...]

An undercover investigation by Channel 4 in 2022 found that labourers making Shein’s clothes in contractors’ factories were often working up to 18 hours a day, and being paid as little as 3p per item, with no weekends and only one day off per month.

The revelations led some influencers to refuse any further work with Shein, and the Rolling Stones cancelled a licensing deal with the brand after The i Paper alerted them to the scandal.

The company vowed to invest millions to improve standards after confirming that some suppliers were abusing workers. But last year another investigation by the Swiss campaign group PublicEye concluded that “illegal working hours” were still common for many workers in Guangzhou. Shein said it takes “firm action” if suppliers break local laws.

Just last week it admitted that audits had uncovered two cases of child labour in supplier factories. Shein terminated contracts with the firms involved immediately, saying it would “work tirelessly to ensure that these isolated cases are removed from our supply chain entirely in future”.

The UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, warned last year: “Encouraging a company like Shein to float on the UK market inadvertently implies endorsement of poor labour practices.” Human rights campaigners fear that we could all become complicit if UK pension funds buy shares in the company.

[...]

In January, a senior Shein lawyer repeatedly refused to tell the Commons Business Committee whether its products contain cotton from Xinjiang. She also failed to answer questions about the flotation, leaving committee chairman Liam Byrne “pretty horrified by the lack of evidence” presented to MPs by the firm.

[...]

Shein has been laying the ground carefully in London. It has employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm owned by Lord Mandelson – now British ambassador to the US – to approach ministers on its behalf. Another lobbyist – Kamella Hudson of FGS Global – accompanied Shein executive chairman Donald Tang to meetings with Labour ministers last year, just months after she assisted Reeves during last summer’s election campaign, according to Bloomberg.

However, revelations about this private courtship have increased the sense of alarm among Labour backbenchers. They have joined the likes of former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat warning against the flotation, with the latter previously calling the retailer “a sinister cross between surveillance and capitalism”.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who served as shadow employment secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, became concerned about Shein after one of her constituents – a painter who runs a small stationary firm in York – complained it had copied one of her designs, a copyright breach costing £100,000.

[...]

Blair McDougall, the Labour MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary groups on both Hong Kong and Uyghurs, agrees. “Nobody can have any confidence that this is a company whose products are free from slave labour,” he says. “The City of London cannot be a soft touch for unethical companies.”

[...]

Asked about the Chancellor’s apparent support for a London listing, Maskell says ministers “should think again, because it will undermine businesses on all sorts of fronts”. She said it would be a step towards the UK becoming a “bargain-basement economy,” which Starmer himself warned against in 2017.

[...]

Shein hoped to go public in London by Easter, but that is expected to be postponed until the second half of the year after a troubling few months for the company.

[...]

“Investors who have a keen eye on environmental, social and governance issues will be nervous and less inclined to invest in Shein,” says Susannah Streeter [head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown], calling the company a “laggard” on these issues compared to rivals.

Then again, “listing in London may force it to clean up its act,” she says. “There will be a spotlight trained on it, and Shein appears to have already taken some steps to ensure its supply chain is more transparent.”

[...]

Archived version

The Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein has spent more than a year working on a plan to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, and successive British governments have tried to help.

[...]

Yet this business deal could have huge ramifications that stretch far beyond the Square Mile.

That’s not just because of the many accusations that have dogged Shein for years – including forced labour in its supply chain, environmental recklessness, and tax-loophole exploitation at the expense of traditional retailers.

[...]

Jeremy Hunt did his best to reel in Shein in his final months as chancellor last year, and his successor [Rachel Reeves] has continued those efforts. Having proclaimed that economic growth is the “number-one mission” of her Government, Reeves wants to demonstrate to China that the UK is open for its business.

[...]

Shein and claims of forced labour

[...]

An undercover investigation by Channel 4 in 2022 found that labourers making Shein’s clothes in contractors’ factories were often working up to 18 hours a day, and being paid as little as 3p per item, with no weekends and only one day off per month.

The revelations led some influencers to refuse any further work with Shein, and the Rolling Stones cancelled a licensing deal with the brand after The i Paper alerted them to the scandal.

The company vowed to invest millions to improve standards after confirming that some suppliers were abusing workers. But last year another investigation by the Swiss campaign group PublicEye concluded that “illegal working hours” were still common for many workers in Guangzhou. Shein said it takes “firm action” if suppliers break local laws.

Just last week it admitted that audits had uncovered two cases of child labour in supplier factories. Shein terminated contracts with the firms involved immediately, saying it would “work tirelessly to ensure that these isolated cases are removed from our supply chain entirely in future”.

The UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, warned last year: “Encouraging a company like Shein to float on the UK market inadvertently implies endorsement of poor labour practices.” Human rights campaigners fear that we could all become complicit if UK pension funds buy shares in the company.

[...]

In January, a senior Shein lawyer repeatedly refused to tell the Commons Business Committee whether its products contain cotton from Xinjiang. She also failed to answer questions about the flotation, leaving committee chairman Liam Byrne “pretty horrified by the lack of evidence” presented to MPs by the firm.

[...]

Shein has been laying the ground carefully in London. It has employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm owned by Lord Mandelson – now British ambassador to the US – to approach ministers on its behalf. Another lobbyist – Kamella Hudson of FGS Global – accompanied Shein executive chairman Donald Tang to meetings with Labour ministers last year, just months after she assisted Reeves during last summer’s election campaign, according to Bloomberg.

However, revelations about this private courtship have increased the sense of alarm among Labour backbenchers. They have joined the likes of former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat warning against the flotation, with the latter previously calling the retailer “a sinister cross between surveillance and capitalism”.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who served as shadow employment secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, became concerned about Shein after one of her constituents – a painter who runs a small stationary firm in York – complained it had copied one of her designs, a copyright breach costing £100,000.

[...]

Blair McDougall, the Labour MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary groups on both Hong Kong and Uyghurs, agrees. “Nobody can have any confidence that this is a company whose products are free from slave labour,” he says. “The City of London cannot be a soft touch for unethical companies.”

[...]

Asked about the Chancellor’s apparent support for a London listing, Maskell says ministers “should think again, because it will undermine businesses on all sorts of fronts”. She said it would be a step towards the UK becoming a “bargain-basement economy,” which Starmer himself warned against in 2017.

[...]

Shein hoped to go public in London by Easter, but that is expected to be postponed until the second half of the year after a troubling few months for the company.

[...]

“Investors who have a keen eye on environmental, social and governance issues will be nervous and less inclined to invest in Shein,” says Susannah Streeter [head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown], calling the company a “laggard” on these issues compared to rivals.

Then again, “listing in London may force it to clean up its act,” she says. “There will be a spotlight trained on it, and Shein appears to have already taken some steps to ensure its supply chain is more transparent.”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19413486

TLDR:

• The New South Wales (NSW) Anti-Slavery Commissioner is reviewing the state government's deal to buy 319 electric buses from Australian-Chinese manufacturers.
• The Chinese company's CATL batteries used in the government's zero emission bus fleet are allegedly linked to Uyghur forced labour camps in the Xinjiang region.
• The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association is calling on the government to rip up the contracts and strengthen procurement mandates.

New South Wales Anti-slavery Commissioner James Cockayne is reviewing the state government's procurement of hundreds of electric buses amid concerns that parts of the vehicles were manufactured using slave labour.

In December the state government announced that it had ordered 319 electric buses as part of its goal to get 1,700 of the vehicles onto Sydney roads by 2028.

The contracts were awarded to Australian-Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) and VDI Australia, which distributes Yutong buses.

The vehicles use batteries made by Chinese firm Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL).

[...]

China processes 60 per cent of the world's lithium needed for EV batteries and the majority of the work is carried out in the Xinjiang region.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19413486

TLDR:

• The New South Wales (NSW) Anti-Slavery Commissioner is reviewing the state government's deal to buy 319 electric buses from Australian-Chinese manufacturers.
• The Chinese company's CATL batteries used in the government's zero emission bus fleet are allegedly linked to Uyghur forced labour camps in the Xinjiang region.
• The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association is calling on the government to rip up the contracts and strengthen procurement mandates.

New South Wales Anti-slavery Commissioner James Cockayne is reviewing the state government's procurement of hundreds of electric buses amid concerns that parts of the vehicles were manufactured using slave labour.

In December the state government announced that it had ordered 319 electric buses as part of its goal to get 1,700 of the vehicles onto Sydney roads by 2028.

The contracts were awarded to Australian-Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) and VDI Australia, which distributes Yutong buses.

The vehicles use batteries made by Chinese firm Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL).

[...]

China processes 60 per cent of the world's lithium needed for EV batteries and the majority of the work is carried out in the Xinjiang region.

[...]

TLDR:

• The New South Wales (NSW) Anti-Slavery Commissioner is reviewing the state government's deal to buy 319 electric buses from Australian-Chinese manufacturers.
• The Chinese company's CATL batteries used in the government's zero emission bus fleet are allegedly linked to Uyghur forced labour camps in the Xinjiang region.
• The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association is calling on the government to rip up the contracts and strengthen procurement mandates.

New South Wales Anti-slavery Commissioner James Cockayne is reviewing the state government's procurement of hundreds of electric buses amid concerns that parts of the vehicles were manufactured using slave labour.

In December the state government announced that it had ordered 319 electric buses as part of its goal to get 1,700 of the vehicles onto Sydney roads by 2028.

The contracts were awarded to Australian-Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) and VDI Australia, which distributes Yutong buses.

The vehicles use batteries made by Chinese firm Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL).

[...]

China processes 60 per cent of the world's lithium needed for EV batteries and the majority of the work is carried out in the Xinjiang region.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19380848

Archived

Batteries are critical to mitigate global warming, with battery electric vehicles as the backbone of low-carbon transport and the main driver of advances and demand for battery technology. However, the future demand and production of batteries remain uncertain, while the ambition to strengthen national capabilities and self-sufficiency is gaining momentum.

Reseachers by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute now published a study that assessed Europe’s capability to meet its future demand for high-energy batteries via domestic cell production. They found that demand in Europe is likely to exceed 1.0 TWh yr−1 by 2030 and thereby outpace domestic production, with production required to grow at highly ambitious growth rates of 31–68% yr−1. European production is very likely to cover at least 50–60% of the domestic demand by 2030, while 90% self-sufficiency seems feasible but far from certain.

To support Europe’s battery prospects, stakeholders must accelerate the materialization of production capacities and reckon with demand growth post-2030, with reliable industrial policies supporting Europe’s competitiveness, the study says.

[...]

If lower production capacity materializes and domestic production remains limited, it will likely pose high economic risks for Europe and imply less European battery sovereignty and setbacks for rapid climate change mitigation, according to the study.

[...]

Beyond mere domestic production capacity and self-sufficiency, the company’s origin is relevant in the context of accessibility and technology sovereignty. While the corporate landscape was nearly 100% Asian in the early 2020s, the share of European companies is projected to increase substantially. In 2025, around two-thirds of the materialized production capacity is likely to result from Asian-affiliated companies and more than one-third from European companies (Extended Data Fig. 2). By 2030, European companies are projected to hold the largest share (45–55%), while the share of Asian companies is expected to decline (40–50%) with US companies anticipated to capture modest shares (3–8%).

[...]

Expressing the European battery demand in terms of required raw material quantities reveals that the cumulative demand for key materials, namely, nickel, cobalt, graphite, lithium and manganese, is projected to increase substantially by 2035, with expected 9-fold (cobalt) and 12–15-fold (nickel, manganese, graphite and lithium) increases relative to the quantities required in 2025 [...]

While Europe will rely on raw material imports until 2030–2035, three factors indicate a strengthening position as the study says:

• First, and in relation to expected demand, substantial domestic reserves of manganese and natural graphite are available, with possibly lower prospects for lithium and nickel, but primary cobalt is scarce.
• Second, existing self-sufficiency assessments [...] indicate progress in building European value chains, however, ramp-ups must be extremely quick. While cobalt and nickel imports (all grades) are likely to remain necessary for domestic processing, it is likely that major shares of lithium and most of the manganese can be sourced and refined domestically. Natural graphite (all grades) is likely to require both local sourcing and refining as well as imports. However, global supply diversification is anticipated to also lower general dependency risks36,37.
• Third, emphasizing the circular economy and recycling, as proposed in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act38 or incentivized by the US Inflation Reduction Act35, is likely to reduce dependency and further improve sustainability within a comprehensive battery ecosystem, also securing material availability even beyond 2050.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19380848

Archived

Batteries are critical to mitigate global warming, with battery electric vehicles as the backbone of low-carbon transport and the main driver of advances and demand for battery technology. However, the future demand and production of batteries remain uncertain, while the ambition to strengthen national capabilities and self-sufficiency is gaining momentum.

Reseachers by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute now published a study that assessed Europe’s capability to meet its future demand for high-energy batteries via domestic cell production. They found that demand in Europe is likely to exceed 1.0 TWh yr−1 by 2030 and thereby outpace domestic production, with production required to grow at highly ambitious growth rates of 31–68% yr−1. European production is very likely to cover at least 50–60% of the domestic demand by 2030, while 90% self-sufficiency seems feasible but far from certain.

To support Europe’s battery prospects, stakeholders must accelerate the materialization of production capacities and reckon with demand growth post-2030, with reliable industrial policies supporting Europe’s competitiveness, the study says.

[...]

If lower production capacity materializes and domestic production remains limited, it will likely pose high economic risks for Europe and imply less European battery sovereignty and setbacks for rapid climate change mitigation, according to the study.

[...]

Beyond mere domestic production capacity and self-sufficiency, the company’s origin is relevant in the context of accessibility and technology sovereignty. While the corporate landscape was nearly 100% Asian in the early 2020s, the share of European companies is projected to increase substantially. In 2025, around two-thirds of the materialized production capacity is likely to result from Asian-affiliated companies and more than one-third from European companies (Extended Data Fig. 2). By 2030, European companies are projected to hold the largest share (45–55%), while the share of Asian companies is expected to decline (40–50%) with US companies anticipated to capture modest shares (3–8%).

[...]

Expressing the European battery demand in terms of required raw material quantities reveals that the cumulative demand for key materials, namely, nickel, cobalt, graphite, lithium and manganese, is projected to increase substantially by 2035, with expected 9-fold (cobalt) and 12–15-fold (nickel, manganese, graphite and lithium) increases relative to the quantities required in 2025 [...]

While Europe will rely on raw material imports until 2030–2035, three factors indicate a strengthening position as the study says:

• First, and in relation to expected demand, substantial domestic reserves of manganese and natural graphite are available, with possibly lower prospects for lithium and nickel, but primary cobalt is scarce.
• Second, existing self-sufficiency assessments [...] indicate progress in building European value chains, however, ramp-ups must be extremely quick. While cobalt and nickel imports (all grades) are likely to remain necessary for domestic processing, it is likely that major shares of lithium and most of the manganese can be sourced and refined domestically. Natural graphite (all grades) is likely to require both local sourcing and refining as well as imports. However, global supply diversification is anticipated to also lower general dependency risks36,37.
• Third, emphasizing the circular economy and recycling, as proposed in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act38 or incentivized by the US Inflation Reduction Act35, is likely to reduce dependency and further improve sustainability within a comprehensive battery ecosystem, also securing material availability even beyond 2050.

[...]

Archived

Batteries are critical to mitigate global warming, with battery electric vehicles as the backbone of low-carbon transport and the main driver of advances and demand for battery technology. However, the future demand and production of batteries remain uncertain, while the ambition to strengthen national capabilities and self-sufficiency is gaining momentum.

Reseachers by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute now published a study that assessed Europe’s capability to meet its future demand for high-energy batteries via domestic cell production. They found that demand in Europe is likely to exceed 1.0 TWh yr−1 by 2030 and thereby outpace domestic production, with production required to grow at highly ambitious growth rates of 31–68% yr−1. European production is very likely to cover at least 50–60% of the domestic demand by 2030, while 90% self-sufficiency seems feasible but far from certain.

To support Europe’s battery prospects, stakeholders must accelerate the materialization of production capacities and reckon with demand growth post-2030, with reliable industrial policies supporting Europe’s competitiveness, the study says.

[...]

If lower production capacity materializes and domestic production remains limited, it will likely pose high economic risks for Europe and imply less European battery sovereignty and setbacks for rapid climate change mitigation, according to the study.

[...]

Beyond mere domestic production capacity and self-sufficiency, the company’s origin is relevant in the context of accessibility and technology sovereignty. While the corporate landscape was nearly 100% Asian in the early 2020s, the share of European companies is projected to increase substantially. In 2025, around two-thirds of the materialized production capacity is likely to result from Asian-affiliated companies and more than one-third from European companies (Extended Data Fig. 2). By 2030, European companies are projected to hold the largest share (45–55%), while the share of Asian companies is expected to decline (40–50%) with US companies anticipated to capture modest shares (3–8%).

[...]

Expressing the European battery demand in terms of required raw material quantities reveals that the cumulative demand for key materials, namely, nickel, cobalt, graphite, lithium and manganese, is projected to increase substantially by 2035, with expected 9-fold (cobalt) and 12–15-fold (nickel, manganese, graphite and lithium) increases relative to the quantities required in 2025 [...]

While Europe will rely on raw material imports until 2030–2035, three factors indicate a strengthening position as the study says:

• First, and in relation to expected demand, substantial domestic reserves of manganese and natural graphite are available, with possibly lower prospects for lithium and nickel, but primary cobalt is scarce.
• Second, existing self-sufficiency assessments [...] indicate progress in building European value chains, however, ramp-ups must be extremely quick. While cobalt and nickel imports (all grades) are likely to remain necessary for domestic processing, it is likely that major shares of lithium and most of the manganese can be sourced and refined domestically. Natural graphite (all grades) is likely to require both local sourcing and refining as well as imports. However, global supply diversification is anticipated to also lower general dependency risks36,37.
• Third, emphasizing the circular economy and recycling, as proposed in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act38 or incentivized by the US Inflation Reduction Act35, is likely to reduce dependency and further improve sustainability within a comprehensive battery ecosystem, also securing material availability even beyond 2050.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19378689

MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there.

In a study appearing today in Nature Sustainability, the researchers report that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases can cause the upper atmosphere to shrink. An atmospheric layer of special interest is the thermosphere, where the International Space Station and most satellites orbit today. When the thermosphere contracts, the decreasing density reduces atmospheric drag — a force that pulls old satellites and other debris down to altitudes where they will encounter air molecules and burn up.

Less drag therefore means extended lifetimes for space junk, which will litter sought-after regions for decades and increase the potential for collisions in orbit.

[...]

Their predictions forecast out to the year 2100, but the team says that certain shells in the atmosphere today are already crowding up with satellites, particularly from recent “megaconstellations” such as SpaceX’s Starlink, which comprises fleets of thousands of small internet satellites.

“The megaconstellation is a new trend, and we’re showing that because of climate change, we’re going to have a reduced capacity in orbit,” Linares says. “And in local regions, we’re close to approaching this capacity value today.”

“We rely on the atmosphere to clean up our debris. If the atmosphere is changing, then the debris environment will change too,” Parker adds. “We show the long-term outlook on orbital debris is critically dependent on curbing our greenhouse gas emissions.”

[...]

MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there.

In a study appearing today in Nature Sustainability, the researchers report that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases can cause the upper atmosphere to shrink. An atmospheric layer of special interest is the thermosphere, where the International Space Station and most satellites orbit today. When the thermosphere contracts, the decreasing density reduces atmospheric drag — a force that pulls old satellites and other debris down to altitudes where they will encounter air molecules and burn up.

Less drag therefore means extended lifetimes for space junk, which will litter sought-after regions for decades and increase the potential for collisions in orbit.

[...]

Their predictions forecast out to the year 2100, but the team says that certain shells in the atmosphere today are already crowding up with satellites, particularly from recent “megaconstellations” such as SpaceX’s Starlink, which comprises fleets of thousands of small internet satellites.

“The megaconstellation is a new trend, and we’re showing that because of climate change, we’re going to have a reduced capacity in orbit,” Linares says. “And in local regions, we’re close to approaching this capacity value today.”

“We rely on the atmosphere to clean up our debris. If the atmosphere is changing, then the debris environment will change too,” Parker adds. “We show the long-term outlook on orbital debris is critically dependent on curbing our greenhouse gas emissions.”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/19342525

Here is the SIPRI report (pdf).

Imports of major arms by states in Europe increased by 155 per cent between 2015–19 and 2020–24. However, there was almost no change in the global volume of arms transfers between the two periods (–0.6 per cent) because increases in arms transfers to Europe and the Americas were offset by overall decreases in transfers to all other regions.

Ukraine was the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2020–24, as its imports increased nearly 100 times over (+9627 per cent) compared with 2015–19. It was the only European state among the world’s top 10 arms importers in 2020–24. However, Europe's total share of global arms imports rose from 11% in 2015-19 to 28% in 2020-24.

The United States was by far the largest exporter of major arms in 2020–24 with a share of 43 per cent of global arms exports. Russia’s arms exports decreased by 64 per cent between 2015–19 and 2020–24, making it the world’s third largest arms exporter behind the USA and France.

Some other facts:

• The five largest arms exporters in 2020–24 were the United States, France, Russia, China and Germany.
• Arms exports by the USA went up by 21 per cent between 2015–19 and 2020–24, while those by Russia went down by 64 per cent.
• France’s arms exports increased by 11 per cent.
• The five largest arms importers in 2020–24 were Ukraine, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
• States in Asia and Oceania accounted for 33 per cent of all arms imports in 2020–24, followed by those in Europe (28 per cent), the Middle East (27 per cent), the Americas (6.2 per cent) and Africa (4.5 per cent).
• Ukraine was the world’s biggest arms importer in 2020–24, accounting for 8.8 per cent of global imports, as states supplied arms, mostly as aid, in response to the full- scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
• The USA accounted for 64 per cent of arms imports by European NATO states in 2020–24, which was a substantially larger share than in 2015–19 (52 per cent).
• Russian arms imports from North Korea in 2020–24 were in violation of a United Nations arms embargo on the supplier state.