9. Prevention of Marine Pollution

2021 ◽  
pp. 503-570
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle ◽  
Catherine Redgwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
Disposal Area ◽  
Common Space

This chapter focuses on threats of pollution to the health of the marine environment. It focuses in particular on marine pollution. The oceans constitute a large expanse of common space. The oceans have been freely used for maritime commerce, exploitation of living resources, extraction of oil and gas, and as a disposal area for waste products for centuries. The law needs to protect marine ecosystems as much as any others on land. Climate change has now begun to harm marine ecosystems and international law needs to consider this. The chapter aims to demonstrate the extent to which an international legal regime for the control of marine pollution from ships has developed since 1972, and the degree to which it has proved effective. The big question is: how can it be made more effective in the future?

Litigating Climate Change under Part XII of the LOSC

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-481
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Inter State

AbstractInter-state litigation is a weapon employed by weaker states with limited diplomatic leverage over their bigger, more powerful opponents. An authoritative judgment may facilitate a settlement of some kind, whether directly, by further negotiation, or simply by legitimising the claims made. The LOSC was negotiated at a time when climate change was not yet part of the international agenda; however, it must be interpreted and applied with subsequent developments in international law and policy in mind. The harmful, toxic, and persistent effects of climate change more than satisfy the test for marine pollution established by Article 1 of LOSC. Part XII applies to climate change insofar as it has or is likely to have deleterious effects on the marine environment. This article will discuss the role that Part XII of LOSC may play in enforcing states’ obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment from the effects of climate change.

Environmental Assessment in Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Practice and Prospects

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 252-255
Author(s):  
Robin Warner
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Marine Areas

Knowledge of the threats posed to the oceans by human activity has expanded beyond marine pollution to encompass recognition of the risks posed to vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) by overfishing, destructive fisheries practices, and invasive exploitation of living and nonliving marine resources. However, with the still-developing state of marine scientific research, the majority of activities at sea continue to occur with limited knowledge of their impacts on the marine environment. In this climate of uncertainty, environmental assessment assumes heightened importance. While governance structures will generally exist to facilitate environmental assessment in marine areas within national jurisdiction, these structures are still developing for marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

Law of the Sea Perspectives on Climate Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
The Law

Abstract The Law of the Sea Convention was negotiated at a time when climate change was not yet part of the international environmental agenda. Nevertheless, it is not a static or immutable legal regime and it is not difficult to apply Part XII to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change insofar as they affect the marine environment. However, it is doubtful whether viewing climate change from the perspective of the law of the marine environment greatly alters the overall picture. At best it provides a vehicle for compulsory dispute settlement notably lacking in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regime. Realistically, while the 1982 Convention may import any newly agreed standards for the control of GHGs, it is not a substitute for further agreement within the UNFCCC framework.

9 Addressing the Marine Environmental Impacts of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harrison James
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
International Law ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Global Regulation ◽  
Marine Environmental ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Chapter 9 addresses the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on the marine environment and the extent to which international law has reacted to this emerging threat to the ecological integrity of the oceans. These issues are particularly challenging to regulate because of their wide-ranging causes and effects. This chapter, therefore, takes into account both how the global legal regime relating to climate change, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, has taken into account the oceans, as well as how sectoral treaties dealing with specific maritime activities have addressed climate change and ocean acidification within their normative framework. In this latter respect, the chapter focuses on the global regulation of carbon emissions from shipping and the way in which the international community has responded to proposed carbon sequestration activities at sea, including sub-seabed storage and geo-engineering.

Climate Change and Maritime Boundaries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snjólaug Árnadóttir
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Emerging Issues

Coastal States exercise sovereignty and sovereign rights in maritime zones, measured from their coasts. The limits to these maritime zones are bound to recede as sea levels rise and coastlines are eroded. Furthermore, ocean acidification and ocean warming are increasingly threatening coastal ecosystems, which States are obligated to protect and manage sustainably. These changes, accelerating as the planet heats, prompt an urgent need to clarify and update the international law of maritime zones. This book explains how bilateral maritime boundaries are established, and how coastal instability and vulnerable ecosystems can affect the delimitation process through bilateral negotiations or judicial settlement. Árnadóttir engages with core concepts within public international law to address emerging issues, such as diminishing territory and changing boundaries. She proposes viable ways of addressing future challenges and sets out how fundamental changes to the marine environment can justify termination or revision of settled maritime boundaries and related agreements.

Pollutants and Contaminants

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. D. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Residence Times ◽  
Artificial Radionuclides ◽  
Pollution Events

Marine pollution events have most often been identified by a catastrophe as opposed to rational scientific deduction. Herein I examine three instances where alterations to the marine environment may result in a loss of resources, either public health or the structure of marine ecosystems: the entry of biostimulants leading to eutrophication; the entry of artificial radionuclides; and the entry of plastics. The introduced materials are increasing in flux, have long residence times, and have known impacts upon living systems.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Fisheries Regulation: What We Should Consider for the Future?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9735
Author(s):  
Keyuan Zou
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Management System ◽  
International Management ◽  
Fisheries Regulation ◽  
Sea Level Rise Impacts

Climate change and its effect on marine environment, especially ocean warming, acidification and sea level rise, impacts fisheries in different ways. However, fisheries and climate change are regulated by different international management mechanisms, which makes the current fisheries management system face challenges. Realizing this, the present paper is designed to consider whether international law should be introduced to apply better management of fisheries so as to cope with the issues arising from climate change. In addition, the paper highlights the importance of incorporating relevant principles into future fisheries regulations by examining an existing bilateral fishery agreements.

Treaty Evolution, Adaptation and Change: Is the LOSC ‘Enough’ to Address Climate Change Impacts on the Marine Environment?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-457
Author(s):  
Catherine Redgwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Marine Environmental Protection ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
Explicit Mention ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Marine Environmental

AbstractClimate change poses serious threats to the marine environment but there is no explicit mention of climate change, ocean warming and acidification in LOSC. This comes as little surprise, given its conclusion in the early 1980s when appreciation for the potential severity of climate change was emerging. As a ‘living instrument’, the Convention has the flexibility and legal tools to address emerging climate change impacts. This article assesses its capacity to do so, as well as the extent to which the oceans have featured in the climate regime. LOSC is not ‘enough’ – but then, it has never been a ‘one stop shop’ for marine environmental protection, whether from conventional sources of marine pollution or from relatively newly appreciated threats such as the impacts of climate change. Indeed, a multifaceted approach is typical of legal responses to the ‘super wicked’ problem of climate change, and the oceans are no exception.

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