Three months into the new job and the UK’s Labour government has had to face some rather difficult tests early on. Few of those have borne the weight of expectation and extended ramification quite like that which it faces this week, when nations from around the world coalesce to eke out the next steps to mitigate – and reverse – the global biodiversity crisis.

Keir Starmer and his cabinet came out of the starting gate with high ambitions for Britain’s green economy earlier this summer, making the Labour cohort an attractive vote for many. The ground upon which that government stands between now and November 1st – as global ambitions are laid bare at the United Nations’ Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia – however, will tell just how well placed that voter faith was.

So far, the signs have been relatively positive. Ahead of COP16 and in the wake of a damning report on the state of global wildlife populations, the government has been quick to appoint a new Nature Envoy to take on the role of tackling a biodiversity crisis. It’s also begun divvying up the cash for select nature and environmental projects; the latest of which has been channeled through the latest round of investment via the government-funded UK Research and Innovation platform.

This month, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has begun sharing out a £101 million pot of funding among ‘key’ scientific research centres and partners it has deemed ‘essential’ in providing national long-term environmental science capabilities, expertise, and services for research across the atmospheric, marine, polar, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. 

Unlocked by UKRI’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), it’s a funding that will support ‘large-scale’ environmental observations, modelling, and analysis, crucial for managing natural resources, biodiversity, human health, and “building our understanding of and resilience to environmental hazards and climate change.”

It’s also been earmarked as a crucial aspect to understanding and supporting the research and innovation sector in “driving green economic growth”, according to UKRI itself. 

It was therefore a well-received £41.4 million injection into the ongoing development at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) – and its Marine Delivery Partners – of an Atlantic Climate and Environmental Strategic Science programme, affectionately known as AtlantiS.

The aim of the AtlantiS programme is to provide evidence, tools, and knowledge to support healthy, biologically diverse, and resilient marine environments; a sustainable blue economy; and keep communities safe from natural hazards. Among its primary objectives is its work to increase both public and government understanding of the role of the ocean in climate.

“We’re thrilled the National Oceanography Centre has been awarded £41.4 million as part of a new £101 million investment in UK science by the NERC,” said the National Oceanography Centre team. “[This funding will] deliver the AtlantiS programme which provides new capability to combine ocean observations from a range of platforms and sensors, next-generation models, and innovation in digital tools to meet the aspiration of healthy, biologically diverse, and resilient marine environments.”

The total £101 million in funding is being made available via the NERC, a division of the UKRI with a vision that such investments help drive a better understanding of our planet. 

Dr Iain Williams, director of strategic partnerships at NERC, said: “This major investment by NERC will build on the UK’s extensive environmental science capabilities, helping us better understand how our planet is changing at local and global scales and enhance resource and environmental management.

“Through this investment, NERC is supporting scientists and policymakers in responding to major global challenges in pollution, warming seas, biodiversity loss, and climate change, and our research will help us to live sustainably.” 

Alongside the National Oceanography Centre, others to receive a share in investment is the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, which now receives £29.9 million to deliver its National Capability for UK Challenges ‘Understanding the UK Environment’; the National Centre for Atmospheric Science which takes £12.4 million to advance access to atmospheric data and provide evidence to government and industry on topics such as air quality, climate, hazardous weather, sustainable fuel emissions, and pollutant dispersion; and the National Centre for Earth Observation to which £8.6 million has been given to translate Earth Observation data from novel satellites into scientific knowledge to benefit the wider science and policy communities.

Completing this funding round, the British Antarctic Survey and Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling has received £8.4 million to deliver its UK Polar Research Expertise for Science and Society (PRESCIENT) programme which aims to: Understand the role and response of polar marine ecosystems to changes in environmental stressors (like temperature, sea ice, and pollution); measure and predict polar ice sheet contributions to global sea level rise; and deliver Antarctic space weather observations in support of the UK National Risk Register.

Professor Dominic Hodgson, interim director of science at British Antarctic Survey, said: “This funding is essential to underpin future research programmes in the polar regions. Our planet is changing rapidly as a result of human activities. It is critically important that we monitor and understand how the polar regions are reacting, and how the changes there, such as loss of the ice sheets, will impact the rest of the planet. This will help us guide governments and society on how to adapt to a changing world.”

Building a green future is now entrenched as one of UK Research and Innovation’s five strategic themes through which – by working with specialists across the sectors – it aims to “accelerate the green economy by supporting the research” that delivers on national priorities and “unlocks solutions essential to achieving net zero in the UK by 2050.”

It’s certainly the mindset that will stand the UK government in good stead as it enters this year’ crucial round of international and intergovernmental discussions on biodiversity (COP16) and climate change (COP29) over the coming two months. The outcome of all these discussions over the coming eight weeks will set the course of the UK’s climate legacy left long after Starmer and the Labour cabinet have vacated their seats of power. 

Its best bet will be to remain aligned with the science and research it’s been investing in.

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