UK Government becomes full member of ORRAA as G7 countries strengthen their support
Lord Zac Goldsmith, UK International Environment Minister, has announced that the UK Government is moving from being an observer to a full member of ORRAA. This follows on from the G7 Climate and Environment Ministers setting out their commitment to strengthen their support for ORRAA in their Communiqué on 21 May.
Lord Goldsmith made the announcement as he discussed the importance of ocean recovery in tackling climate change with Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the World Economic Forum’s Virtual Ocean Dialogues. He said: “Ocean action is climate action. This is why we continue to champion global efforts towards marine protection, committing to increasing support for the Alliance as well as our existing 30by30 campaign.” The WEF is an ORRAA project delivery partner.
The UK becomes the second G7 country after Canada to become a full member of the Alliance. ORRAA was initially endorsed by all G7 countries at the Environment Ministerial meeting in Metz, France in 2019, which was echoed in the G7 Leaders’ Summit communiqué later that year.
Chip Cunliffe, Co-Chair of ORRAA, said: “Working more closely with the UK as it becomes a full member of ORRAA is hugely important – especially given the UK’s current global leadership through the G7 and COP26 presidencies. Our Alliance is uniquely placed to bring public and private stakeholders together to drive investment in nature-based solutions and to build resilience in vulnerable coastal communities. Having the UK actively involved will help boost our multi-sector collaboration of governments, the finance and insurance sectors, NGOs and civil society – all working together to accelerate action, innovation and capital to secure positive outcomes for the Ocean.”
“2021 is a critical year requiring meaningful decisions and action to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.” adds Karen Sack, Co-Chair of ORRAA. “Benefitting from the expertise and ambition of the UK as a full member will be a huge asset for ORRAA, at a time when we need increased momentum, collaboration and innovation to invest in and protect our Ocean and coasts, and to secure a net-zero, nature-positive and climate-resilient future.”
26 May 2021
ORRAA
