{"id":85057,"date":"2017-10-05T09:49:06","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T09:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=cd1627cb4d497aa6e87f177143b4cee4"},"modified":"2017-10-05T09:49:06","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T09:49:06","slug":"news-story-uk-takes-world-stage-in-fight-against-marine-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=85057","title":{"rendered":"News story: UK takes world stage in fight against marine plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Environment Minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey has set out how the UK is taking action to tackle marine litter and protect oceans from the effects of climate change at today\u2019s \u2018Our Ocean\u2019 conference in Malta.<\/p>\n

Speaking in front of heads of state, ministers and NGOs from around the world, the Environment Minister pledged her support to help small island developing states with marine science, research and conservation projects \u2013 alongside setting out how the government is continuing the fight at home against the eight million tonnes of plastic that make their way into oceans each year.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s ban on microbeads has been lauded as one of the toughest in the world and nine billion fewer plastic bags have been distributed since the government introduced a 5p charge. This week the government also issued a call for evidence<\/a> on the benefits of reward and return schemes for plastic bottles in a bid to clean up our oceans.<\/p>\n

Speaking from Malta, Environment Minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey said:<\/p>\n

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Around the world our oceans are suffering from the blight of plastic pollution and the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

The UK continues to be a global leader in protecting oceans and marine life \u2013 our 5p plastic bag charge has taken nine billion bags out of circulation, our microbeads ban is one of the toughest in the world, and we are now exploring what more we can do to reduce the impact of plastic bottles.<\/p>\n

But there is always more we can do \u2013 which is why I am meeting with my counterparts in Malta today to pledge my continued support for marine conservation and discuss how we can work together to protect our precious oceans and marine life for future generations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Our Ocean Conference<\/a>, held in Malta from 5-6 October, brings together heads of state, governments, industry and NGOs to discuss marine conservation and agree actions to protect seas and oceans around the world.<\/p>\n

Alongside further funding under the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme<\/a> \u2013 which began in 2015 to help small island states make the most of their maritime asserts and encourage sustainable economic growth \u2013 the Environment Minister also announced support for global initiatives to tackle plastic pollution.<\/p>\n

These include joining the Global Partnership on Marine Litter \u2013 one of the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals \u2013 as well as signing up to the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, an alliance of the fishing industry, NGOs and government agencies working to solve the problem of lost and abandoned \u2018ghost\u2019 fishing gear that can trap sea life.<\/p>\n

\u00a35.2 million has also been granted to marine projects through the two most recent rounds of the Darwin Initiative and Darwin Plus grant schemes \u2013 helping to protect coral reefs, set up Marine Protected Areas, encourage sustainable fisheries and increase the resilience of coastal communities to climate change.<\/p>\n

While in Malta, Minister Coffey also reiterated the government\u2019s commitment to creating a network of marine protected areas around the United Kingdom, alongside reaffirming \u00a34.8 million to drive forward the creation of a \u2018blue belt\u2019 across the UK\u2019s Overseas Territories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today Environment Minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey is at the Our Ocean conference in Malta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85057"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}