Integrating Climate Change into the Law of the Sea Convention: An Examination of Feasibility

Research Article
Open access

Integrating Climate Change into the Law of the Sea Convention: An Examination of Feasibility

Muye Xu 1*
  • 1 Hainan University    
  • *corresponding author 2480971897@qq.com
Published on 26 October 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/20/20231493
LNEP Vol.20
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-83558-065-3
ISBN (Online): 978-1-83558-066-0

Abstract

The imperative to tackle climate change and its far-reaching consequences on both the environment and humanity is unquestionable. The Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change sent a request to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, with a proposition to integrate climate change into the regulation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This proposition seeks to mandate state parties under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect and preserve the marine environment from climate change impacts. This paper critically engages with the shortcomings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change framework and explores the question of whether greenhouse gases meet the definition of pollution of the marine environment and further scrutinizes whether Part XII of the Convention should be revised to extend its regulation over climate change.

Keywords:

climate change, law of the sea convention, UNFCCC, greenhouse gases

Xu,M. (2023). Integrating Climate Change into the Law of the Sea Convention: An Examination of Feasibility. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,20,137-142.
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References

[1]. Salimi Turkamani H, ‘From Kyoto to Paris: Problematic Route of State Responsibility for Climate Change’ (2021) 23 Environmental Law Review.

[2]. Ravi S. Prasad, R. Sud, ‘The pivotal role of UNFCCC in the international climate policy landscape: a developing country perspective’ Volume 7, 2021, Global Affairs.

[3]. D. Bodansky and S. D. O’Connor, ‘The legal character of the PA’ (2016) 25(2); Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law.

[4]. Navraj Singh Ghaleigh and Alan Boyle, Climate Change And International Law Beyond The UNFCCC, Edinburgh School of Law Research Paper Series No 2021/06.

[5]. Sebastian Oberth r & Hermann E. Ott, The KP: International Climate Policy For The 21ST Century (1999).

[6]. UNFCCC, Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties, Decision1/CP.21.

[7]. Simlinger F and Mayer B, ‘Legal Responses to Climate Change Induced Loss and Damage’ in Reinhard Mechler and others (eds), Loss and Damage from Climate Change (Springer International Publishing 2019).

[8]. Boyle A, ‘Law of the Sea Perspectives on Climate Change’p.831; Redgwell C, ‘Treaty Evolution, Adaptation and Change: Is the LOSC “Enough” to Address Climate Change Impacts on the Marine Environment?’ (2019) 34 The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law.

[9]. Nguyen LN, ‘Expanding the Environmental Regulatory Scope of UNCLOS Through the Rule of Reference: Potentials and Limits’ (2021) 52 Ocean Development & International Law 419.

[10]. Van Shearer, “Oceans Management Challenges for the Law of the Sea in the First Decade of the 21 st Century”, in Alex Oude Elferink and Donald Rothwell (eds.), Oceans Management in the 21 st Century: Institutional Frameworks and Responses (Koninklijke Brill NV, 2004).

[11]. David Anderson, “Peaceful Settlement of Disputes Under UNCLOS”, in Jill Barrett & Richard Barnes (eds.), Law of the Sea: UNCLOS as a Living Treaty (BIICL, 2016).

[12]. Joshua Paine, “The Judicial Dimension of Regime Interaction beyond Systemic Integration”, in S. Trevisanut, N. Giannopoulos and R. Holst (eds.), Regime Interaction in Ocean Governance: Problems, Theories and Methods (Brill, 2020).

[13]. Juliane Kokott, States, Sovereign Equality, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law.

[14]. David Werksman J, ‘Could a Small Island Successfully Sue a Big Emitter? Pursuing a Legal Theory and a Venue for Climate Justice’ in Michael B Gerrard and Gregory E Wannier (eds), Threatened Island Nations (1st edn, Cambridge University Press 2013) .

[15]. International Bar Association, Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Disruption: Current Legal Challenges in Climate Change Justice, 2014.

[16]. Written Statement of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, 2023 ITLOS.

[17]. International Law Commission, the Fourth report on the protection of the atmosphere, by Shinya Murase, Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/705), for a consideration of the interrelationship between international law on the protection of the atmosphere and other fields of international law, including the law of the sea (section III).

[18]. Mélières, Marie-Antoinette; Maréchal, Chloé; Geissler, Erik; Mélières, Marie-Antoinette (2015). Climate change: past, present and future. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.Kaufman DG.

[19]. Myron Nordquist, Satya Nandan and Shabtai Rosenne (eds.), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary, Vol.4(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1985).

[20]. Arato J, ‘Subsequent Practice and Evolutive Interpretation: Techniques of Treaty Interpretation over Time and Their Diverse Consequences’ (2010) 9 The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 443.

[21]. Johansen E, Busch S and Jakobsen IU (eds), The Law of the Sea and Climate Change: Solutions and Constraints (1st edn, Cambridge University Press 2020).

[22]. James Harrison, Saving the Oceans through Law: The International Legal Framework for the Protection of the Marine Environment (Oxford University Press, 2017).


Cite this article

Xu,M. (2023). Integrating Climate Change into the Law of the Sea Convention: An Examination of Feasibility. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,20,137-142.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries

ISBN:978-1-83558-065-3(Print) / 978-1-83558-066-0(Online)
Editor:Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Enrique Mallen
Conference website: https://www.iceipi.org/
Conference date: 7 August 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.20
ISSN:2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Salimi Turkamani H, ‘From Kyoto to Paris: Problematic Route of State Responsibility for Climate Change’ (2021) 23 Environmental Law Review.

[2]. Ravi S. Prasad, R. Sud, ‘The pivotal role of UNFCCC in the international climate policy landscape: a developing country perspective’ Volume 7, 2021, Global Affairs.

[3]. D. Bodansky and S. D. O’Connor, ‘The legal character of the PA’ (2016) 25(2); Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law.

[4]. Navraj Singh Ghaleigh and Alan Boyle, Climate Change And International Law Beyond The UNFCCC, Edinburgh School of Law Research Paper Series No 2021/06.

[5]. Sebastian Oberth r & Hermann E. Ott, The KP: International Climate Policy For The 21ST Century (1999).

[6]. UNFCCC, Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties, Decision1/CP.21.

[7]. Simlinger F and Mayer B, ‘Legal Responses to Climate Change Induced Loss and Damage’ in Reinhard Mechler and others (eds), Loss and Damage from Climate Change (Springer International Publishing 2019).

[8]. Boyle A, ‘Law of the Sea Perspectives on Climate Change’p.831; Redgwell C, ‘Treaty Evolution, Adaptation and Change: Is the LOSC “Enough” to Address Climate Change Impacts on the Marine Environment?’ (2019) 34 The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law.

[9]. Nguyen LN, ‘Expanding the Environmental Regulatory Scope of UNCLOS Through the Rule of Reference: Potentials and Limits’ (2021) 52 Ocean Development & International Law 419.

[10]. Van Shearer, “Oceans Management Challenges for the Law of the Sea in the First Decade of the 21 st Century”, in Alex Oude Elferink and Donald Rothwell (eds.), Oceans Management in the 21 st Century: Institutional Frameworks and Responses (Koninklijke Brill NV, 2004).

[11]. David Anderson, “Peaceful Settlement of Disputes Under UNCLOS”, in Jill Barrett & Richard Barnes (eds.), Law of the Sea: UNCLOS as a Living Treaty (BIICL, 2016).

[12]. Joshua Paine, “The Judicial Dimension of Regime Interaction beyond Systemic Integration”, in S. Trevisanut, N. Giannopoulos and R. Holst (eds.), Regime Interaction in Ocean Governance: Problems, Theories and Methods (Brill, 2020).

[13]. Juliane Kokott, States, Sovereign Equality, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law.

[14]. David Werksman J, ‘Could a Small Island Successfully Sue a Big Emitter? Pursuing a Legal Theory and a Venue for Climate Justice’ in Michael B Gerrard and Gregory E Wannier (eds), Threatened Island Nations (1st edn, Cambridge University Press 2013) .

[15]. International Bar Association, Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Disruption: Current Legal Challenges in Climate Change Justice, 2014.

[16]. Written Statement of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, 2023 ITLOS.

[17]. International Law Commission, the Fourth report on the protection of the atmosphere, by Shinya Murase, Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/705), for a consideration of the interrelationship between international law on the protection of the atmosphere and other fields of international law, including the law of the sea (section III).

[18]. Mélières, Marie-Antoinette; Maréchal, Chloé; Geissler, Erik; Mélières, Marie-Antoinette (2015). Climate change: past, present and future. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.Kaufman DG.

[19]. Myron Nordquist, Satya Nandan and Shabtai Rosenne (eds.), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary, Vol.4(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1985).

[20]. Arato J, ‘Subsequent Practice and Evolutive Interpretation: Techniques of Treaty Interpretation over Time and Their Diverse Consequences’ (2010) 9 The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 443.

[21]. Johansen E, Busch S and Jakobsen IU (eds), The Law of the Sea and Climate Change: Solutions and Constraints (1st edn, Cambridge University Press 2020).

[22]. James Harrison, Saving the Oceans through Law: The International Legal Framework for the Protection of the Marine Environment (Oxford University Press, 2017).