Environment Minister Rebecca Pow announces plans for new protections for seabirds in a keynote speech at the 2020 Coastal Futures conference.

The UK has one of the richest marine environments of any coastal state in Europe and, owing to its island nature, also has incredibly diverse coastlines.

Globally we are leading ocean policy. Our 25 Year Environment Plan is clear; we will be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

The ocean is vital to this ambition – as I’m sure you are all aware. It supplies almost half our oxygen and absorbs almost a third of the carbon dioxide we produce, plays a crucial role in regulating climate systems and provides precious biodiversity services.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated the urgency of the call for action in its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere.

Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate; the ocean is warming; acidification is increasing; ice sheets and glaciers are losing mass. The launch of the latest Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership report confirms that climate impacts in UK waters are varied and far-reaching. At the same time, we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. The challenge is clear in the changing tide of our time.

International Engagement

That is why 2020 will be a “marine super year”.

The international community will gather in Portugal, in China, and of course in Glasgow for COP26 to shape ocean policy for the next decade. We should achieve agreement on safeguarding 30% of the global ocean by 2030, and on a new UN Treaty for conservation and sustainability in the “High Seas”.

As a backbencher I was proud to call for the UK’s ban on plastic microbeads in personal care products and cosmetics. The government subsequently issued a ban – a good step, though there is much further to go. I’m pleased the UK is foremost in tackling the scourge of plastic pollution and marine litter, hosting out first global conference in March.

This government’s £500m Blue Planet Fund further demonstrates our commitment, helping some of the world’s poorest communities to protect the ocean from plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss.

But our global voice is only credible if we match it with action at home. And there is a ground-swell of work underway in this regard. Click here to read more

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