Environment and Climate Ministers of the G7 Countries agree actions to reverse biodiversity loss at G7 meeting in Japan.

UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey and the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Grant Shapps, attended in person. Guest countries included India, Indonesia and the UAE.

The G7 members committed to the swift and effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) demonstrating their collective leadership in halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. They also highlighted the need to mobilise funding from all sources to support developing countries to protect nature.

The UK Environment Secretary called on her fellow ministers to deliver on their existing commitments to increase finance for nature to close the nature finance gap and scrap or repurpose environmentally harmful subsidies.

Speaking after the meeting, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

“The G7 have committed to the swift and effective implementation of the landmark Global Biodiversity Framework – which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

Following this historic agreement reached at COP15 last year, I am delighted to have met my G7 counterparts today to discuss ways we can build on this as a global community and tackle the challenges we all face with meaningful and urgent action.”

The group also committed to redouble efforts to increase action to end plastic pollution by 2040, halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, protect marine biodiversity in the high sea, and reduce pollution.

High Seas, Deep-sea mining, and Fishing subsidies

The Ministers’ Communiqué and other outcome documents have been published and contain commitments on key global ocean management issues:

High Seas: We highlight the importance of this international legally binding instrument for strengthening governance of the areas beyond national jurisdiction. We call for its early entry into force and implementation for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of the areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Fishing subsidies: We reconfirm our commitment to ending U fishing including through promoting the swift acceptance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies by G7 members and call on all WTO members to strive for its early entry into force and to engage constructively in the negotiations on outstanding issues.

Deep-sea mining: We reaffirm taking a precautionary approach to potential mining of marine minerals.

The full press release from Defra can be read here.

The G7 information is published online on the Japanese Ministry of the Environment website here.

The full G7 Ministers’ Communiqué and other outcome documents can be read here.