Don’t back down, Rishi, on green ideals – it will allow devastating deep-sea mining

Former environment minister Zac Goldsmith explains why the UK cannot afford to lose its nerve in the face of increasing pressure to abandon its commitment to the environment, not least because of the urgent threat to our precious ocean ecosystem

Deep-sea mining causes huge amounts of noise that will impact heavily on sensitive whales and dolphins (Getty Images)

The UK has worked hard to put protection of the natural world and restoring biodiversity at the forefront of international negotiations. We have brought together and led international coalitions that have the capacity to deliver genuine change.

Alongside hosting Cop26, where we successfully brought nature from the margin of the margins of climate politics, we galvanised international agreement at the UN Plastics Pollution Treaty, led calls to protect 30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean at the biodiversity Cop15, and spent 10 years at negotiations for the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. Our negotiating teams are respected worldwide – and rightly so.