Minister Mary Creagh congratulated the Deputy Speaker on her election and thanked Barry Gardiner for his kind words. She highlighted the importance of international partnerships to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The Minister acknowledged the decline in UK’s bird and mammal species, polluted rivers and seas, and pledged that this Labour Government will deliver a plan to hit Environment Act targets by halting species decline by 2030 and protecting 30% of land and seas. She mentioned a nature recovery project called Purple Horizons and confirmed the intention to focus on nature in upcoming spending reviews. The Minister emphasised that nature is central to the Government’s missions, including net zero targets and job training for new industries. At COP15, 196 countries agreed the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to halt biodiversity loss by 2030; she confirmed a senior UK delegation will attend COP16 in Colombia this October. She outlined three priorities: negotiations on digital sequence information aiming at benefits for genetic data contributors, implementation of GBF through publishing NBSAPs, and mobilising finance from all sources including an initial £10 million contribution by the UK to the new global biodiversity framework fund.