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

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.