The 2015 meeting of the G7 science ministers and EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, took place in Berlin, 8-9 October, hosted by Germany who have held presidency since June 2014. The G7, comprising the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, meet annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy. This year, the four priorities discussed at the G7 meeting of the science ministers were: poverty-related infectious diseases, clean energy, research infrastructure and the future of the seas. Under the topic of the future of the seas, particular attention was paid to marine litter and deep-sea mining, previously identified as challenges to the preservation and sustainable use of the marine environment by G7 Leaders at the G7 summit in June. Acknowledging existing activities by organisations such as JPI-Oceans and work under the Galway Statement initiative, the G7 science ministers committed to coordinating with the G7 countries on the G7 Action Plan to Combat Marine Litter. The plan includes strengthening research efforts to better understand the extent and impacts of plastic waste in the seas and oceans; encouraging a joint analysis identifying the priority research areas that can provide options to reduce the intrusion of plastics in the seas and oceans and; encouraging the development of a concerted interdisciplinary research, education, and literacy programme. In accordance with the findings of EMB’s recent position paper 22 on deep-sea research, the ministers acknowledged that not enough is known about the impacts of deep-sea mining on deep-sea ecosytems and habitats and encouraged further research in this area. The next meeting of the G7 science ministers takes place in Japan in 2016.