• Mr Sharma will represent the UK government together with Prime Minister Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Minister for the UN Lord Ahmad and Minister of State Lord Zac Goldsmith

• The COP President will participate in a range of UN and Climate Week NYC events, where he will urge climate leaders from governments, businesses and civil society organisations to accelerate more ambitious climate action

• Mr Sharma will also co-chair the second Climate and Development Ministerial alongside the Rwandan Minister of Environment on 20 September

COP26 President Alok Sharma will travel as part of the UK delegation attending the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). He will also participate in Climate Week NYC events, held alongside UNGA, engaging with businesses, financial institutions and civil society to support greater progress on the Glasgow Climate Pact ahead of COP27.

While in New York, Mr Sharma will emphasise the critical importance of sustained action to limit global temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees, particularly from major emitters. Mr Sharma will make clear that G20 nations must demonstrate leadership by delivering on the commitments collectively made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

As part of UNGA, the COP President will attend the UN Secretary-General hosted leader-level Climate Roundtable and also welcome the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warning for All initiative at a side event, where attendees will take stock of progress on addressing gaps in early warning systems for climate impacts and the need to scale up early action efforts.

The Governments of the United Kingdom and Rwanda will co-host the second Climate and Development Ministerial meeting on Tuesday 20 September from the Microsoft UN Affairs Office. Building on the successes of the first Ministerial meeting in 2021, the COP26 President and Rwandan Minister of Environment will bring countries together to discuss the priorities of climate vulnerable countries, and chart a path to make tangible progress on them.

Alok Sharma, COP26 President, said:

Since last November when we met at COP26, the world has faced multiple global crises, precipitated by Vladimir Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which need immediate attention.

However at the same time the chronic threat of climate change has worsened with the devastating floods in Pakistan, which have left a third of the country underwater, one terrible example of our changing climate.

Therefore at this critical juncture less than two months before COP27, and just days ahead of the UNFCCC Synthesis Report deadline, it is more important than ever that all countries deliver on the commitments we made, collectively, in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

The COP26 President will use sessions at Climate Week NYC to call for maximum ambition and accelerated progress from non-state actors. He will particularly focus on mobilising private finance institutions – through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) network – to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation from investment and lending portfolios, advancing progress of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use agreed at COP26.

Speaking at the Hub Live opening on 20 September, Climate Week NYC’s flagship event, the COP26 President will underscore the need for further, faster transitions in key sectors including energy and transport initiatives. He will address the link between energy security and climate security, highlighting that the commitments made at COP26 to urgently scale-up the deployment of clean power and phase down fossil fuel usage are more relevant than ever in the present global context.

Mr Sharma will also underline the need for ambitious action across the transport sector by announcing the intention to launch the Accelerating to Zero Coalition. The coalition will build on the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Declaration launched at COP26, which aims to reach 100 percent zero emission cars and vans by 2035 in leading markets, and 2040 globally.

The COP President will chair a roundtable to promote the Breakthrough Agenda Report, an independent progress assessment of the Breakthrough Agenda launched at COP26. He will encourage countries to implement an action plan the UK – as current secretariat of the Breakthrough Agenda – has developed based on the assessment, focusing on clean technologies and sustainable solutions in high emissions sectors to deliver the net zero transition.

Following his attendance at UNGA and Climate Week NYC, the COP26 President will continue to work closely with Egypt’s incoming COP Presidency and other global partners to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact and secure an impactful COP27 outcome.

-ENDS-

Background

During UNGA and Climate Week NYC, the COP26 President will be speaking at the following events:

Tuesday 20 September

• Climate and Development Ministerial, co-hosted by the UK and Rwanda governments

• ZEVs: Are we there yet? Steering the global market towards EV100

• Hitachi organised event: Accelerating the Transition to Clean Energy and a Green Industrial Revolution

• Breakthrough Report Launch Roundtable

Wednesday 21 September

• UNGA Side Event: UN Global Early Warning Initiative to Implement Climate Adaptation

• Energy: The New Climate Reality – Energy Certainty in an Uncertain World

• UN Secretary General’s Informal Leaders’ Roundtable on Climate Action

Notes to Editors

The Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed at COP26. Nearly 200 countries agreed to keep 1.5C alive and finalise the outstanding elements of the Paris Agreement. The Glasgow Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition and action from countries, means that 1.5C remains in sight, but it will only be delivered with concerted and immediate global efforts.

The Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) brings together existing and new net-zero finance initiatives into a single, sector-wide coalition and provides a forum for leading financial institutions to accelerate the transition to a net-zero global economy.

The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use was signed by 142 countries at COP26, and now has 145 signatories. This commitment is to work collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

The ZEV Declaration is accelerating the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans. It is working towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets.

At the COP26 World Leaders Summit, over 40 countries accounting for over 70% of global GDP endorsed the Breakthrough Agenda, committing to work together to make clean and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in each of the emitting sectors before the end of this decade.

Thank you Mr President,

Acting High Commissioner,

The former High Commissioner’s recent report on Xinjiang included credible evidence of arbitrary and discriminatory detention, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced sterilisations and abortions, and the destruction of religious sites. This report provides further compelling and harrowing evidence of the extent of China’s efforts to silence and repress Uyghurs and other minority groups in the region including acts that may constitute crimes against humanity. China must allow independent UN experts to conduct unrestricted visits to Xinjiang to verify the findings. The Council must not stay silent as an ethnic and religious minority is so brutally targeted.

Turning our attention to other countries, in Sudan, violence, the killing of protestors and other human rights violations continue. We are disappointed that important progress made on human rights since the 2019 revolution has been lost following last year’s coup. The UK urges the Sudanese authorities to allow peaceful protests, to deliver on their commitment to protect civilians, to implement the Juba Peace Agreement, and to hold those responsible for violations to account. All parties must recommit to Sudan’s democratic transition to deliver the peace and justice the Sudanese people deserve.

In South Sudan, the human rights situation is appalling, evidenced by harrowing reports of violence, killings and widespread sexual violence. The UK calls on the Government of South Sudan to hold the perpetrators of these abuses to account, end impunity, and protect civilians. A secure, stable and enduring peace is essential. The Government should now implement the 2018 peace agreement, meeting the timelines set out in their recently announced Roadmap.

We are also deeply concerned by the recent violence seen in Libya, most notably on the weekend of 26 August when 32 people were killed and over a hundred injured. The Libyan authorities must prioritise the protection of civilians and respect the human rights of all Libyans.

Thank you

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has conducted a seabed mapping data survey in Montserrat, to improve the safety of navigation around the island and to help with understanding, managing, and protecting its marine life.

For this project, funded by the UK’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), the UKHO worked alongside the Montserrat Hydrographic Survey Team to collect data from the waters around the island. This information can be used to assist with inundation mapping, which supports disaster resilience and planning, as well as by environmental departments to update habitat maps and the Royal Navy for relief efforts.

The UKHO data survey team returned to the UK in early September after spending four weeks gathering information from Montserrat’s nearby waters. The team will now validate the data, before updating any of its navigational products that cover the waters around Montserrat.

The seabed mapping data survey is the latest in a series of projects where the UKHO, through its Overseas Territories Seabed Mapping Programme (OTSMP) has collaborated with authorities in Montserrat, a British overseas territory. During the past six years, the OTSMP supported local authorities to improve their compliance with international maritime obligations and provided equipment and expertise to undertake seabed mapping surveys.

This latest survey is one of the three workstreams that the UKHO and Montserrat Hydrographic Survey Team have worked on in the 2022/23 financial year. They are also carrying out a Hydrographic Action Plan Review and installing a Marine Environmental Monitoring Station.

Following Montserrat’s attendance at the Hydrographic Governance seminar held at the UKHO three years ago, draft governance implementation plans were developed to identify areas of improvement that would support the island’s aim to meet the IMO Instruments Implementation Code. The UKHO reviewed the plans in the 2020/21 financial year and subsequently created an action plan.

The UKHO OTSMP Programme Manager visited Montserrat from 22–26 August to review the Hydrographic Action Plan with maritime stakeholders, highlighting completed actions and identifying work that needs to be done. The updated plan is now with the Montserrat Maritime Authority, to continue its good work towards compliance.

Elsewhere, a Marine Environmental Monitoring Station will be installed on the existing jetty at Little Bay in Montserrat to collect tidal data later this year. Tracking the rise and fall of tides over time is key to refining the modelling and prediction of tides.

The Montserrat Hydrographic Survey Team will receive information from the monitoring station to support its data collection operations. The station’s data will also be freely available on the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s website and linked to the regional Early Warning and Migration Systems for tsunamis just after installation later this year. The scientific community can use this data to understand sea levels over time and any related impact on climate change. The information is also available to local stakeholders, who can share it to enable the safe passage of vessels and secure marine operations.

Sarah Tucker, Governor of Montserrat, said:

The UKHO, through the CSSF, has continued to provide a wide range of support in Montserrat for six years, culminating in this year’s programming. The seabed mapping of the eastern side of the island will replace data last collected in 1867.

“Montserrat is the only UK Overseas Territory with its own cross-government hydrographic survey team capable of collecting data that enables informed decisions to be taken in the maritime environment. This is a fantastic achievement by everyone. I commend the Ministries and their public servants who continue to fully engage in this important work for Montserrat.”

Kerrie Howard, Hydrographic Programme Manager at the UKHO, said:

For the past six years, we’ve worked closely with Montserrat’s authorities to collect data that enhances navigational safety around the island and protects its environment and marine life. The joint survey between the UKHO and Montserrat reinforces the ongoing collaboration and commitment of the UKHO to ensure that Montserrat authorities are able to survey their waters to international standards.

The Environment Agency and Northumberland Rivers Trust have relocated hundreds of native crayfish from the abundant populations found in the River Wansbeck in Morpeth, to six refuge sites in North Northumberland.

These refuges, known as ‘Ark’ sites, give the crayfish new safe places to breed and build their numbers, ensuring several populations remain if disaster strikes on the main Wansbeck.

The River Wansbeck is one of the last remaining strongholds for the white-clawed crayfish, but the survival of the species is threatened by the invasive and highly aggressive American signal crayfish. Signal crayfish are bigger, outcompete for food and can pass on the ‘crayfish plague’ which is deadly to the native crayfish.

The signal crayfish, which originates from America, was introduced in the 1970s and can also burrow into banksides, causing increased siltation of watercourses.

Crayfish relocated during maintenance work

Over the last few weeks, native crayfish have been moved from the main River Wansbeck at Mitford and relocated to the Ark sites. The opportunity to move a large number of the crayfish has come as a result of maintenance works being carried out at Mitford Dam, which is part of the Morpeth Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The crayfish were collected by experienced and licenced staff using a combination of traps, stone turning and hand nets, all under a Natural England conservation licence.

It’s just one part of the wider Northumberland Crayfish Strategy, which also involves partners including the National Trust and Northumberland Zoo, to ensure 2022 isn’t the native species’ final year in the county’s rivers.

‘Very real danger’ of native species disappearing from rivers

The Environment Agency’s Ian Marshall, Biodiversity Technical Specialist in the North East and white-clawed crayfish National Species Lead, said:

We’re in very real danger of this native species disappearing from our rivers. These new Ark sites will give them a chance to breed and build new populations to help secure their long-term future.

It builds on the positive progress already made by ourselves and our partners in Northumberland to protect them.

Pete Kerr, Northumberland Rivers Trust, said:

While Northumberland’s rivers do have some of the best remaining populations of native crayfish in the UK, the invasive signal crayfish are a constant and imminent threat.

Many people haven’t seen a native crayfish but they are amazing creates that play a vital ecological role. We need to do all we can to shelter them from harm and these new Ark sites will play a key role.