Marine Environment: Pollution Control

(asked on 15th July 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce pollution in the marine environment.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 24th July 2020

The UK Government is committed to leading efforts to protect the marine environment from all stressors.

The UK Marine Strategy Part 3 published in December 2015, sets out a comprehensive list of actions the UK Government is taking to reduce contaminant concentrations in the marine environment to acceptable levels. In 2021 we intend to publish an update to the document, outlining the programmes of measures that will continue to move us towards Good Environmental Status in our seas. Existing measures include various pollution reduction requirements for emissions and discharges from industry, and measures for coastal waters that are set out in the River Basin Management Plans.

The UK Government is also tackling pollution from solid waste at its source. The Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December 2018, sets out our plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, working towards our 25 Year Environment Plan target to reduce all types of marine plastic pollution.

Given the trans-boundary nature of the marine environment, we work closely with other countries to tackle pollution, such as with those who share our seas through the OSPAR Convention. The UK also contributes to and implements the obligations of several global initiatives, including the London Protocol and the London Convention, to protect the marine environment from mercury, persistent organic pollutants, hazardous wastes, hazardous chemicals, pesticides and marine litter. In 2018, the UK launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance alongside Vanuatu, now a community of 34 member states who have pledged action on reducing plastic pollution in the ocean. As per the Government’s manifesto commitment, the UK will establish a £500 million Blue Planet Fund that will help eligible countries protect their marine resources from key human-generated threats, including pollution.

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