We are both founding members of NATO, and the UK was pleased to welcome Iceland in joining the JEF in 2021. The Glasgow Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition across adaptation, finance and mitigation, means that 1. The 2021 Integrated Review put science and technology at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy and set out the importance of international partnerships to achieve this.

Amongst significant UK contributions we continue to promote and encourage the full implementation of AEWA international species action plans for relevant arctic-breeding waterbirds such as Greenland White-fronted Goose, Barnacle Goose and Bewick’s Swan. The UK is open to the world, with a global network of friends and partners, and with the opportunity to forge new and deeper relationships. In 2019, we signed an FTA with the Faroe Islands, and in 2020 signed a Fisheries Framework Agreement which provides the platform for our annual bilateral fisheries negotiations.

Crucially for the ocean and the Arctic, the framework includes targets to ensure fisheries and aquaculture are sustainable, tackle pollution, the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification, and protect at least 30% of the land and of the ocean globally by 2030 (‘30by30’). The new framework includes an ambitious package of global goals and targets, and a central mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. China is seeking natural resources, trade and energy supply routes and is promoting investment in the region through its Polar Silk Road.

In 2021 the UK published its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy - ‘Global Britain in a competitive age’ [footnote 1]. In March 2021 the UK and Norway signed an updated High Level Arrangement on Cooperation on Polar Affairs. UNFCCC COP26 Parties also agreed to ask all relevant parts of the UN climate change convention to integrate the ocean in their work, and to start a bespoke annual dialogue on the ocean to strengthen action.Sweden is also an important member of the JEF, hosting a UK military headquarters during Exercise Joint Protector in 2021 and hosting the JEF Chiefs of Defence conference in February 2022. As we look ahead to address future challenges in the region, civil and defence space capabilities will become increasingly important to provide high fidelity, multi-spectral data to monitor the region and to enhance resilience to critical national infrastructure, including communications within the region.

Our long-term strategic objective remains for the Arctic to be a peaceful and stable region, characterised by cooperation. While decisions on what regulations should apply are matters for national authorities, the UK encourages all countries to adopt the highest standards of Environment and Social Governance. Aside from the dramatic environmental consequences of melting ice, there will also be economic implications. Each year, Royal Marines and aircraft from the Joint Helicopter Command travel to Norway to undertake their cold weather training alongside their Norwegian counterparts – learning how to operate in one of the world’s most extreme climates.

The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) provides a common framework to drive ocean action through international collaboration on transformative ocean science. Underpinning this governance is the need for effective communication at a local, regional and national level to ensure that the ‘Social Licence to Operate’ can be maintained throughout the life of mine and beyond. Recognising the importance of international collaboration to achieving our mission, the UK will champion a focus on space within the JEF construct and with close Allies in the region. Warmer seas are less able to absorb CO2, so more will stay in the atmosphere and further amplify the impacts of global warming.