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<p>In April last year, the UK hosted one of the most successful Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meetings (CHOGM) ever. All 53 members of the Commonwealth adopted the
Commonwealth Blue Charter, agreed to establish action groups on ocean issues led by
Commonwealth member countries and mandated the Secretariat to take forward a Commonwealth
Blue Charter plan of action. Since CHOGM, nine action groups have now been proposed
of which the UK Government has joined three so far: the coral reef protection, ocean
acidification, and ocean and climate change action groups. The UK Government is in
the process of joining the action groups on Mangroves and Marine Protected Areas.</p><p>
</p><p>The UK and Vanuatu also spearhead the groundbreaking Commonwealth Clean Oceans
Alliance (CCOA), the action group to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution in the
ocean. The CCOA has gained unparalleled support since its launch in April, increasing
its membership from seven to 24 countries across the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the
Pacific regions. In recognition of our global leadership on tackling the problem of
plastic in the ocean, the Prime Minister has announced up to £66.4 million of UK aid
to assist Commonwealth countries. This includes a technical assistance facility that
will support developing countries in achieving their commitments under the CCOA, which
was increased from £5 million to £10 million by the Prime Minister in August last
year.</p><p> </p><p>The first phase of the £6 million Commonwealth Litter Programme
(CLiP) work in the Pacific region has been completed. Minister Coffey and Pacific
country leaders attended a regional conference last month to showcase the marine litter
action plans produced by the CLiP with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Furthermore,
over 35 Government funded Commonwealth Blue Charter Fellowships are underway which
continue to support emerging Commonwealth scholars to explore solutions to the marine
plastics challenge. We have made tremendous progress in safeguarding our ocean since
CHOGM 2018 and we expect even more successful action ahead of the next CHOGM meeting
in Rwanda in 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is committed to the Sustainable Development
Goals, and tackling climate change and managing the natural environment is a core
part of the Government’s international work. For example:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The UK
has increased its contribution to the Global Environment Facility to £250 million
in the latest replenishment round (2018-2022).</li><li>The Prime Minister will lead
on galvanising international efforts on climate resilience at the UN Secretary General’s
Summit in September this year.</li><li>As part of a £61.4 million package of UK support
announced by the Prime Minister at CHOGM, together with further announcements made
during the Prime Minister’s visit to Africa, the Government has committed support
to priority countries to increase recycling and tackle poor waste management. This
includes: £3 million to trial approaches to the management of plastic waste in cities
in three developing Commonwealth countries (Bangladesh, Ghana and Uganda) and up to
£10 million of technical assistance to developing countries that have signed up to
the CCOA.</li></ul><p> </p><p>At the International Wildlife Trade Conference hosted
in London in October last year, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to tackling
the international wildlife trade and we are now investing over £36 million between
2014 and 2021 to counter the trade, including £900,000 of new funding to develop a
British military counter-poaching taskforce in Africa.</p><p> </p><p>At last year’s
Katowice Climate Change Conference, the UK demonstrated its climate leadership through
our instrumental role in the creation of a rulebook to bring the Paris Agreement to
life. This common set of rules and metrics is essential for driving genuine climate
action globally and for future agreements.</p><p> </p><p>Since April last year the
Green Climate Fund has approved the funding of $1.05 billion in funding proposals,
and successfully launched its first replenishment for the second resource mobilisation
phase. A further $122.5 million has been approved for readiness funding to be deployed
this year. Polices related to results management, prohibited practices, the restructuring
and cancellation of funding proposals and the appointment of the World Bank as Trustee
were also approved. The Fund also selected its next Executive Director, who will serve
a four year term from April.</p><p> </p><p>As announced by the Foreign Secretary at
CHOGM, the UK and New Zealand co-hosted a meeting at Wilton Park on 16-18 December
to discuss climate change and resilience in the Pacific. The Forum was an opportunity
to listen to Pacific concerns, needs and priorities in relation to climate change,
and provided a space for representatives from across governments and the academic
and private sectors to discuss innovative solutions to these challenges.</p>
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