UK driving action on climate and nature at UN General Assembly

The UK government has put tacking the climate and nature crisis front and centre of discussions at last week’s annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

To bolster our climate resilience at home the UK signed up to the OceanEye International Alliance, an EU-led international initiative to strengthen global ocean observation and monitoring. The announcement was made by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle at an event hosted by EU President von der Leyen and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney at the UN headquarters.

Joining the OceanEye Alliance will unlock vital ocean monitoring data, helping bolster our national resilience to extreme weather like storms and flooding and helping to inform future flood defences and coastal planning. Strengthened international data sharing will also help countries to work together to protect global ocean health and restore vital ecosystems like coral reefs, enhancing the long-term resilience of our oceans.

The Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Energy Secretary all attended to drive international action on climate and nature.

The mission comes after a record-breaking summer of wildfires and heatwaves across the UK. This government is clear that we must be a leading international voice on climate resilience, nature protection and clean energy, while also seizing economic opportunities.

Environment Secretary, Dame Angela Eagle said:

This summer was a stark warning of how our climate is changing. This government is leading the way in tackling the challenges posed by climate change: restoring nature, protecting communities from extreme weather and building a resilient farming system.

A thriving and resilient natural environment is the key to a stronger Britian and because no one country can tackle these challenges alone, we are working with partners around the world to drive action and restore nature.

The Environment Secretary also attended events to mobilise international finance and discuss how the private sector can help unlock investment into nature and climate-resilient infrastructure. She also called on the international community to accelerate action to protect 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030, addressing other government ministers from around the world at an event co-hosted by the UK alongside Armenia, Grenada, the Maldives, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

The UK will continue to drive action as we head towards the Biodiversity COP16 and the Climate COP31 held this autumn.