Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on working with other nations in the Global Ocean Alliance 30by30 initiative.

Since 2019, the United Kingdom has led the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries in support of ambitious ocean action within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the adoption of a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (‘30by30’).

The GOA now has over 70 country members who have pledged to support the adoption of the 30by30 ocean target at the 15^th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the CBD in December this year. The United Kingdom also serves as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC), alongside Costa Rica and France, which champions 30by30 for both land and ocean. Between these two United Kingdom-led and complementary alliances, 120 countries now support 30by30 in the ocean.

The ocean is essential for all life on Earth, yet has historically been underrepresented in the CBD. The GOA’s activities - which span meetings, co-hosting events and promoting joint initiatives - are therefore extremely important to raise the profile of ocean issues to ensure COP15 delivers the necessary outcomes for the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the ocean. For example, at the UN Ocean Conference in June 2022, the GOA and HAC supported the United Kingdom/Fiji-led side event “Driving Positive Ocean Action”, which saw the mobilisation of further ocean finance.

As we approach COP15, the United Kingdom will continue working with Costa Rica and France, galvanising members of the HAC and GOA, to ensure these coalitions have the strongest possible impact as we call for this crucial target to be enshrined in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.