Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of appointing an ambassador to the Arctic to represent the Government’s interests in that region.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
None. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon is Minister for the Polar Regions and is supported by the Head of the Foreign and Commonwealth's Polar Regions Department. The Government has consistently noted that such an Ambassador to the Arctic would not add significant value to existing structures and roles currently in place, nor justify the additional costs.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Russian and (b) Chinese counterparts on the Arctic.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Officials from our Embassy Moscow discussed the importance of continued international cooperation in the Arctic with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 6 May. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) official also attended the Fifth International Arctic Forum in St Petersburg on 9 April. The Head of Polar Regions Department, in the FCO, attended the recent Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland and spoke with the Head of the Chinese Delegation on the margins. Officials from the British Consulate-General in Shanghai will attend the Arctic Circle Forum on 10-11 May in Shanghai to further understand China's interest in the region.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the predicted global rise in sea levels as a result of the increase in Antarctic ice loss in the past four decades; and what steps they are taking, with international partners, in response to that issue.
Answered by Lord Henley
The UK Climate Projections (UKCP18), published in November 2018 by the UK government-funded Met Office Hadley Centre (MOHC), projected a global sea level rise of 29 – 112 cm by 2100, relative to the 1981-2000 average, depending on the scale of future emissions of greenhouse gases. Under a medium emissions scenario, the UKCP18 sea level projections show a net contribution from Antarctica of up to 26 cm by 2100.
The UK Government is committed to tackling climate change and is actively working with others to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. This includes:
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what international representations are being made to reduce waste in the oceans in international waters and the Polar Regions.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The UK is committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14 – preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds. Marine litter is a global issue affecting every region of the world’s oceans and therefore needs global action. To achieve this goal we are working through a number of organisations and multilateral organisations.
We played a leading role within the G7 to drive ambitious action under the Ocean Plastics Charter in 2018 which has secured support from 16 governments and 20 businesses and organisations.
In April 2018 the Prime Minister launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, an action group under the Commonwealth Blue Charter that takes action on marine plastic pollution. Led by the UK and Vanuatu, 24 Commonwealth country members of the CCOA have pledged ambitious action to tackle plastic pollution. The CCOA is supported by a package of UK aid of up to £66.4m, which will provide technical assistance and boost much needed research and innovation to stop plastic entering the marine environment in the first place.
In the Polar Regions, the UK has maintained strong involvement in finalising the environmental aspects of the Polar Code, through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Protection of the Marine Environment Working Group (PAME). The Polar Code includes mandatory measures covering pollution prevention from various wastes. The dumping of plastic waste in Antarctica is prohibited and UK fishing operators are leading action to reduce plastic pollution released into Antarctic waters.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will seek a change through the International Maritime Organisation to ban ships from using heavy fuel oil when travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government is supportive of the ongoing work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address the risks associated with Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in Polar Waters.
The use and carriage of HFO by ships in the Antarctic region is prohibited and the UK has been an active participant in the current international effort to identify appropriate control measures, including a possible ban, for the Arctic region.
The Government is in favour of proportionate, risk based controls, noting the vulnerability of the Arctic, and if the IMO work indicates a ban is necessary to mitigate the risk we will support such a step.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether planned Royal Navy Type 31 frigates will be able to operate in the extreme climate conditions found in northern waters and the arctic region.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Royal Navy's Type 31e frigates will be capable of unrestricted global deployment, experiencing a wide range of sea and climatic conditions, and will operate effectively in various regions, including northern waters and the South Atlantic all year round. However ships must comply with the International Maritime Organization Polar Code, which sets out regulations for shipping in the Polar regions, principally relating to ice navigation and ship design.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent permanent staff in his Department are allocated to working on negotiations towards securing an agreement on the proposal to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea at the next annual meeting of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Issues pertaining to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources are covered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Polar Regions Department, which currently has 6.5 full-time equivalent permanent staff. This team is also supported on the development of the Weddell Sea Marine Protection Area proposal by FCO Legal Advisers and scientific and technical experts from the British Antarctic Survey and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received from Arctic Indigenous peoples on his proposed revised Arctic Policy Framework.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government works in conjunction with Arctic Indigenous peoples towards a safe and secure Arctic, including through the Arctic Council. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials recently heard the concerns of some of the Arctic’s Indigenous peoples at the “Arctic Voices” event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions. The UK remains of the view that only responsible development should take place in the Arctic region.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many members of staff in his Department have worked on marine diplomacy in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Maritime Policy Unit (three members of staff) and the Maritime Security Team (three members of staff) have both been in existence during the past five years. In addition, staff in other departments in particular the Polar Regions Department, and in our posts across the world, have engaged on a variety of marine and maritime issues as they have arisen over the past five years.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many members of staff in his Department work on matters relating to Antarctica.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Polar Regions Department leads for the Government on all Antarctic issues. Seven members of staff work in the Polar Regions Department. The Department also covers the Sub-Antarctic, Arctic policy coordination and the implementation of the Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme. Other FCO staff members will provide support on Antarctic issues as appropriate.