International Marine Protected Area: Sargasso Sea

Baroness Coffey Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Lord, Lord Cameron, will confirm if you ask him that yes, he did pause the negotiations, but he restarted them because he could see that this was a necessary process.

[Baroness Coffey (Con)]

I had the privilege of being alongside my noble friend Lord Ahmad when we signed the BBNJ treaty at the UN in 2023. It is great news to hear about progress on the Sargasso. I think there is a real opportunity, building on what my noble friend Lord Howell of Guildford said, about using the Commonwealth. There are certainly wonderful opportunities around overseas territories such as St Helena and linking up with Namibia. I encourage the Minister to use whatever aid is left, but more importantly our marine science expertise, to try to propagate these right around the world.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I think the noble Baroness put that incredibly well. I take her encouragement in good spirit, and I will work with my fellow Ministers to do just that.