The UK is a signatory to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (the ‘OSPAR Convention’). The OSPAR Convention identifies threats to the marine environment and organises programmes and measures designed to ensure effective national action to combat them. One of the key work areas of OSPAR is on radioactive substances.

The 2009 Radioactive Discharges Strategy alongside the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy, aims to prevent pollution of the OSPAR maritime area (the North East Atlantic) from radiation through progressive and substantial reductions of discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances.

The 2018 Review shows the UK is making good progress towards achieving the outcomes in the 2009 strategy, and that the UK is contributing towards meeting the objectives of the OSPAR strategy.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has today [22 June] unveiled an ambitious plan to bring together all of the Government’s international oceans work under a single strategy for the first time.

The Government will agree and implement a new oceans strategy, under the aegis of the FCO, which will cover work from departments including Defra, BEIS, DfT and DIT. The strategy will be developed over the coming months. Responding to the recommendation from the Government Chief Scientific Adviser to develop a more strategic approach to marine and maritime policy, it will provide a blueprint for international action by HMG towards the oceans that supports the long-term prosperity of the UK and the long-term health of the marine environment.

Speaking on a visit to the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Foreign Secretary said:

Britain has a proud and ancient maritime history, but our commitment to the oceans must be enshrined in our future. Today in Southampton I’ve heard from world-leading UK experts on marine protection, and what more the UK can do to help.

We need to improve and energise international ocean governance to protect the world’s seas and their ecosystems, to keep our people and goods safe, and to support sustainable economic growth, as well as to deliver our ambitious environmental commitments. Utilising expertise across government, Britain will stay at the leading edge of international marine excellence.

At the NOC, the Foreign Secretary met scientists working on Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded marine protection programmes, including the flagship Blue Belt programme, which will protect over four million square kilometres of British waters by 2020.

The Foreign Secretary’s visit builds on commitments made during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London in April, where the FCO announced additional funding for the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme and a number of Government commitments to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the oceans.

Notes to editors

• The Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme is a £23 million programme over 4 years (from 2016) to assist Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean to develop maritime economy plans for sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

• The Government Office for Science issued a Foresight report on 21 March 2018 entitled ‘Future of the Sea’, which sets out the important role that the oceans play in the life of the UK and its Overseas Territories. It highlighted an opportunity for the UK to develop a “thriving 21st Century marine and maritime economy and leading the global response to environmental change.”

• The Blue Belt programme aims to deliver demonstrable increases in the protection of marine biodiversity across the combined maritime zones of the UK and the UK Overseas Territories, taking into account local views and supporting the development of sustainable economies. The Blue Belt programme is on course to deliver over 4 million square kilometres of protected ocean around the UKOTs by 2020, with funding of up to £20m to support scientific assessment, implementation, management, monitoring and surveillance of these areas.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

A new Green Finance Institute and an industry-led Financial Services Skills Taskforce were announced by the Chancellor last night (21 June 2018) as part of his vision for the future of the UK’s world-leading financial services sector.

In his annual Mansion House speech, the Chancellor set out how the UK will harness emerging technologies and global markets, and ensure a wealth of talent for the financial sector, securing its future post-Brexit.

Skills Taskforce

To ensure the sector continues to have access to the future talent it needs, and the skills required to shape the innovative markets of the future, a new industry-led Financial Services Skills Taskforce will be established, chaired by Mark Hoban, former City Minister.

In his speech, the Chancellor said:

…we will need to ensure that – in addition to access to international talent – the UK has a long-term pipeline of domestic skills to meet this transformation.

To harness the brightest young minds of today to meet the needs of the financial sector of the future.

So tonight I am pleased to announce the creation of a new industry-led Financial Services Skills Taskforce

[…]

To understand and respond to changes in the shape of financial services.

To ensure we meet the long-term skills needs of the sector over the coming decades.

And creating opportunities for the next generation.

Commenting on the new Taskforce, Mark Hoban said:

Establishing a Skills Taskforce to focus on the needs of our world-leading industry is a vital step to ensuring its long-term success. The future of this industry is dependent on its ability to attract and retain the best people. It is consistently the number one issue raised by industry leaders. By assessing now what skills are needed for the future we can put in place the right measures today to make sure our education system can deliver the skills we need tomorrow.

Green Finance Institute

Emphasising how the UK’s new internationalist approach could benefit the world, not just the UK economy, the government will also fund a new Green Finance Institute, together with the City of London Corporation, to champion sustainable finance in the UK and abroad.

In his speech, the Chancellor said:

The UK is already leading the charge in this market – with nearly 80 green bonds raising more than $24 billion across seven currencies.

But if we are collectively to meet our global climate goals, we will need to mobilise $90 trillion by 2030.

And it is my ambition that the UK leads the world in financing this investment.

So tonight I can announce we are establishing a new Green Finance Institute here in London, jointly funded by government and the City of London.

So that firms from across the world can access our one-stop-shop for world-leading climate science, and for capital.

Here in the UK – the home to the markets of the future.

Commenting on the new Institute, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation said:

I’m delighted that the Treasury is partnering with the City of London Corporation to set up a Green Finance Institute.

This will bring together the UK’s existing capabilities, create new business opportunities, and communicate to the wider market what London’s offer is in green finance and insurance.

Promoting this is not only good for business, but is good for the world; helping tackle one of our greatest challenges – global warming.

London is already a world leader in green finance, and this institute, a key recommendation of the Green Finance Taskforce, will ensure we remain so for years to come.

Further Information

Financial Services Skills Taskforce

• The new Taskforce will assess the financial sector’s long-term needs in order to ensure domestic skills match employer needs and the UK’s financial services skills base remains world leading.
• The terms of reference and meeting dates of the Taskforce will be determined by the Chair and Secretariat in due course.

Green Finance Institute

• In March, the Green Finance Taskforce published a set of recommendations to the government and industry. The first of these was to establish an Institute to develop the UK’s Green Finance market. It will also play a vital role in our international engagement on financial services, especially in emerging markets where green finance demands are growing rapidly.
• The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate Change estimates around $93 trillion of global infrastructure investment between 2015 and 2030 will need to be green in order to meet climate change commitments. The green bond market grew by 78% between 2016 to 2017, to $155 billion in green bond issuances.
• The London Stock Exchange is currently home to 78 green bonds which have raised over $24.5 billion.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by