Thank you to all those who have continued to contact me about protecting our oceans.
I greatly value our waterways. As well as their economic power, our seas and oceans support a range of diverse marine ecosystems, providing rich biodiversity and acting as an important carbon store. I am concerned about the threats they face from human activity.
We must intensify our efforts to understand, preserve and harness the power of our oceans.
The UN Global Oceans Treaty was adopted in June and has received 90 signatures so far. The UK Government indicated in July 2023 that it would look to adopt and ratify the treaty as quickly as possible. However, it has now said it is seeking to do so in time for the UN ocean protection conference in June 2025. I believe it is disappointing that the Government has not devoted the resources necessary for getting this treaty ratified as a priority.
I share concerns on deep sea mining. I support a pause until and unless there is clear scientific evidence it can be done safely and the marine environment can be effectively protected by new regulation. Last October, the UK Government announced a temporary suspension on supporting or sponsoring deep sea mining until enough scientific evidence is available to understand the impact on ecosystems.
We know mining in the deep sea will cause adverse impacts to the environment. An independent expert review commissioned by the Government and published in October 2022, for example, noted that deep sea ecosystems are considered to be particularly sensitive to disturbance, with recovery not evident over decades in test areas and with bigger commercial-scale impacts expected to last centuries.
I appreciate concerns regarding oil and gas in the North Sea. I recognise we will continue to need to use North Sea oil and gas, including production from existing fields, for decades, and I do not support revoking granted licences. However, I do not support handing out new licences to explore new oil and gas fields. New exploration in the North Sea will have no effect on energy bills and would not offer the right answer for either the economy or the environment. Instead, I believe we should aim to cut bills, create jobs and deliver energy security through a mission to deliver cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030 and accelerating to net zero.
Thank you once again to all those who have contacted me.