The Treasury has thwarted an attempt by senior economists across Whitehall to set up a review of resource depletion, climate change and growth to address the concerns of both industry and environmentalists. Many manufacturing groups are worried about the potential impact on supply chains because of the rapid industrialisation of large parts of the globe. Access to raw materials was named as the biggest concern for industry by 80% of respondents in a survey by the EEF manufacturers' body in 2012. The issue was discussed at length at a meeting of the National Security Council, the key group of officials and ministers responsible for national security. The proposal for a Whitehall review was drawn up in 2012 and had backing from BIS, DECC and DEFRA as well as others. But in several emails the proposal was effectively killed off by Dave Ramsden, Chief Economist at the Treasury, say letters seen by the FT under the Freedom of Information requests. That is likely to be seen as the latest evidence of the Treasury, under Chancellor George Osborne, eroding the "green" agenda once promised by the Conservative party.
