The UK Government has also committed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep-sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems, and strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards have been developed by ISA and are in place. Shipbrokers are represented at the Baltic Exchange, which has the world’s only independent source of maritime market information for trading and settlement of physical and derivative contract.

All 197 Parties agreed to the Glasgow Climate Pact, agreeing collectively to work to reduce the gap between existing emissions reduction plans and what is required to reduce emissions, so that the rise in global average temperature can be limited to 1. UK experts have contributed to the development of a Decade Arctic Action Plan, identifying actions, priorities and an implementation plan for the Arctic Ocean in the Ocean Decade.

The 2021 Spending Review backed this up with a significant increase in funding for science to achieve the UK’s ambition to be a Science, Technology and Innovation Superpower. He spent hours admiring the bay, wanderings into the docks, between the sea and the industrial infrastructures. A key objective for the UK is to honour the rights of communities to engage in traditional practices. As a founding member of the NATO Alliance, the UK is prepared to defend our Arctic Allies and respond to aggression if the need arises. The UK continues to work with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide strong frameworks for scientific collaboration in the Arctic, particularly on tackling environmental issues.

Finland is an important and like-minded partner on the Arctic, and the UK shares Finland’s ambition to protect the Arctic’s climate, environment, and the rights of its inhabitants, and to maintain Arctic expertise, infrastructure and logistics.Nearly two thirds of the global ocean lies in areas beyond national jurisdiction – and this includes part of the Arctic. We recognise the importance of negotiated and consensus-driven agreements through multilateral organisations, treaties and conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS), International Maritime Organization ( IMO) and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ( OSPAR). We look forward to engaging with the incoming Norwegian Chairmanship from May 2023, including to look for further opportunities to enhance our contribution to the work of the Council in areas of mutual interest and global importance, such as climate change and marine pollution.