“The UK Government is here to ensure that nature is high on the agenda at COP29. Half of the global economy depends on nature, and we must protect nature not only for its own sake but also for the sake of humans,” said the UK Government’s Nature Minister Mary Creagh, as she announced new funding for projects that will build resilience to climate change in oceans at COP29.

There has been insufficient competitive funding for programmes tackling marine issues, and in the last 10 years less than 1% (around $13 billion) of the total value of the ocean has been invested in sustainable projects, even though the ocean supports the livelihoods of 1 in 10 people globally.  Funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) as part of the UK’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund, The Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) Grants Programme seeks to redress these imbalances by supporting people and communities impacted most acutely by climate change.

The OCEAN Grants Programme officially revealed the first 20 beneficiary projects at COP29, that will drive forward the recovery of marine ecosystems and combat poverty in coastal communities across five continents and 13 countries, including Bangladesh, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.

Why nature should be at the heart of climate discussions

Ruth Davis, the UK’s first ever Special Representative for Nature, accompanied Minister Creagh to COP29 to ensure that nature took its rightful place at the heart of climate change discussions. The Global Rewilding Alliance recently launched the  Animating Carbon Cycle website: www.animatingcarbon.earth. Animating the Carbon Cycle is a groundbreaking field of science that bridges biodiversity and climate, showing how healthy wild animal populations supercharge the ability of ecosystems to capture and store massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. The website includes peer-reviewed papers from some of the world’s top science journals; case studies that show how groups are putting the science into practice; and guidelines for policy makers to fulfil both climate and biodiversity targets at the same time.