UK Ocean Leadership

Monday 25th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My noble Friend the Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy (Lord Benyon) has today made the following statement:

“This statement provides an update on UK leadership and engagement on current international ocean issues.

The 2021 integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy and its 2023 refresh set out the UK’s vision that by 2030 the ocean will be effectively governed, clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse, linking resilient and prosperous coastal communities around the world, and supporting sustainable economic growth for the UK, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies. Fundamental to this is an absolute commitment to upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in all its dimensions, as an essential enabler of global prosperity, security and a healthy planet.

The UK played a significant and proactive role in negotiating the landmark agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, known as the BBNJ Agreement. The UK was one of the first to sign the agreement on 20 September 2023 and is keen to see it enter into force as quickly as possible. 60 States or regional economic integration organisations must become party to the agreement before it enters into force. To date the agreement has gained 88 signatures and two ratifications.

The agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Before the UK can ratify international agreements, legislation needs to be in place to ensure that new obligations can be complied with.

Work is continuing at pace to prepare UK legislation and the aim is to be able to implement and ratify in time for the UN ocean conference in June 2025, an ambitious target date shared by other likeminded countries. The UK intends to play an active part in the first conference of the parties that will meet within the first year after the agreement enters into force, and in the preparatory commission to be established by the United Nations to prepare for that conference. The planned timeline for UK legislation to enable ratification will ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of states working to effectively protect the ocean.

The provisions in the agreement on marine genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits require a clear legislative framework, including substantive provisions in primary legislation. They create new obligations for UK business—in particular the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, agricultural-technology, cosmetic and chemical sectors—and science and research, and thorough engagement with key stakeholders is underway to help to ensure that implementation is effective and avoids any unintended consequences.

The UK will continue to be proactive at the international level, in supporting other, particularly developing countries, with their implementation and ratification plans. A project has recently been agreed with the Commonwealth secretariat to support smaller member countries with their implementation work. The UK is also launching work to develop a shortlist of potential Area

Based management tools that could be proposed once the agreement is in force.

More broadly, the UK is also fully engaged in negotiations to discuss the development of deep sea mining exploitation regulations, currently taking place at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica from 18-29 March. On 30 October 2023, the UK announced that it supports a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects by the ISA and has been driving the need for strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines to be developed by the ISA and put in place before any mining commences.

As a founding member of the high ambition coalition to end plastic pollution, the UK is committed to achieving an ambitious treaty by the end of 2024, with the aim of ending plastic pollution by 2040, including by restraining and reducing plastic production and consumption to sustainable levels, promoting a circular economy for plastic and to manage plastic waste in an environmentally sound and safe manner.

The UK overseas territories are home to around 90% of the UK’s biodiversity and host a huge range of unique and endangered species, some of which are found nowhere else on earth. The UK-funded Blue Belt Programme—the largest of its kind in the world—protects 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean around the overseas territories, underpinning the UK’s commitment to protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. This flagship programme has been central to the UK Government ambition of leading action to tackle the serious global problems of overfishing, species extinction and climate change.

The UK continues to chair the global ocean alliance of 77 countries and is ocean champion on the International Steering Committee of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People. Through these positions we are supporting implementation of the global biodiversity framework in the ocean, in particular the target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. The UK is already delivering on this target within its own waters. 38% of UK waters are included in a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and within the UK overseas territories, over 60% of waters are protected and sustainably managed within the blue belt.

The UK will continue to play a leading role in the many organisations and initiatives that work to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and in continuing to protect and promote the blue belt.”

[HCWS382]