Britain is seeking more private investment in ocean industries and changes to development finance, as Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says vulnerability and debt burdens should figure in efforts to expand the blue economy.
Miliband delivered the remarks in Antigua and Barbuda on Nov. 3, during a blue finance event at the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) released a transcript on Nov. 4.
He said the UK would work with Commonwealth governments, development banks and international funds to draw private capital into the blue economy. He called for vulnerability to be weighed alongside income in concessional finance decisions and urged multilateral development banks to help address unsustainable debt burdens. The speech announced no funding amount, private-capital target or specific debt-relief plan.
The Commonwealth says its members' ocean jurisdictions span one-third of the global total, while 45% of the world's coral reefs lie in member countries. Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General (Programmes) Tanmaya Lal said small island developing states, developing countries and coastal communities shoulder a larger share of costs linked to ocean challenges.
On conservation, Miliband said the UK and Bermuda plan to recruit more governments to the Hamilton II Declaration during COP31, scheduled for Nov. 9-20 in Antalya, Türkiye. Bermuda's government says seven governments signed the declaration at an initial ceremony on Oct. 19. The Sargasso Sea Commission says the declaration backs work on a joint proposal for area-based management tools in the Sargasso Sea under the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and other relevant frameworks. The commission traces the effort to the 2014 Hamilton Declaration and more than a decade of subsequent work. The first meeting of the BBNJ Agreement's Conference of the Parties is scheduled for January 2027 in New York.
Miliband also backed the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Net-Zero Framework for shipping and opposed reducing its ambition. The IMO's 85th Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 85) is set for Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Its calendar also lists a continuation of an extraordinary session for Dec. 4, though MEPC 85 must confirm that date.
