The United Kingdom is a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES, which is implemented within the EU by the Wildlife Trade Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97), regulates trade in over 5,000 species of animals, including the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Polar bears are listed under Appendix II as a species that is not necessarily now threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Under the EU Regulation the international trade in polar bears and other vulnerable species is strictly regulated to ensure that it will not be detrimental to their wild populations.
Currently, however, the chief threat to polar bears is the impact of climate change, which is felt particularly strongly in polar regions. If global temperatures continue to rise, Arctic summer sea ice could disappear almost entirely by the latter part of this century. The UK continues to take a strong lead internationally on climate change. In particular, we are working through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the G8 to secure agreement to a long-term international framework that can address dangerous climate change.