In a news story published on 30 September 2026, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said the UK government had made climate and nature discussions central to the previous week's annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to the department, the UK signed up to the OceanEye International Alliance, described as an EU-led initiative to strengthen global ocean observation and monitoring.

Defra said Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle announced the move at an event hosted by EU President von der Leyen and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at UN headquarters. The department stated that joining the alliance would unlock ocean monitoring data intended to support national resilience to extreme weather such as storms and flooding and inform future flood defences and coastal planning.

The story said the Environment Secretary also attended events on international finance and private-sector investment in nature and climate-resilient infrastructure. It added that she called on the international community to accelerate action to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030, and that the UK would continue to push action ahead of the Biodiversity COP16 and Climate COP31 planned for that autumn.