Essay by Eric Worrall

Yet another freedom sapping international treaty committee of unelected apparatchiks.

A new ruling says countries – including NZ – must take action on climate change under the law of the sea

Published: May 24, 2024 6.13am AEST
Karen Scott
Professor in Law, University of Canterbury

In a significant development for small island nations threatened by rising seas, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has found greenhouse gases constitute marine pollution.

The tribunal handed down a unanimous advisory opinion this week in its first climate-related judgement. It declared countries must take measures to combat climate change in order to preserve the marine environment under the law of the sea.

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Some institutions associated with UNCLOS, such as the International Maritime Organization, have taken steps to address climate impacts on the ocean. But countries have been reluctant to do so. They have often asserted the primary mandate regarding emissions reductions and climate adaptation lay with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

The tribunal’s advisory opinion confirmed, for the first time, that the 168 UNCLOS parties must address climate change and ocean acidification in order to comply with their obligations under the law of the sea. 

First, ITLOS confirmed that greenhouse gas emissions and the heat generated by a warming climate meet the definition of “pollution” under Article 1(4) of UNCLOS. This is important because under Part XII of UNCLOS, states have obligations to prevent, control and mitigate pollution of the marine environment from any source.

Second, the tribunal confirmed the obligation under Article 194 of UNCLOS to prevent and control pollution applies to greenhouse gas emissions. This includes emissions already accumulated in the atmosphere. States therefore must take all necessary measures to address climate change pollution and ocean acidification.

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Read more: https://theconversation.com/a-new-ruling-says-countries-including-nz-must-take-action-on-climate-change-under-the-law-of-the-sea-230420

What can I say? ITLOS have just earned themselves a place on the international treaty bonfire which we all hope will take place out the back of the White House in 2025.

The day to day impact, at first, is likely to be minimal. Nobody wants an end to shipping, in my opinion this is likely just part of the ongoing Pacific Island shakedown of anyone naive enough to give them handouts.

If cargo ships actually stopped operating, it would be an unimaginable economic and social disaster for the very island nations which brought the case.

So why bring the case? Pacific Islanders have had centuries of experience playing great powers off against each other, and manipulating international perceptions in ways which result in the islanders receiving money. Islanders are some of the smartest people on the planet, as you quickly learn if you have any islander friends. Thousands of years of brutal inter-island conflicts killed off all the stupid ancestors.

You would imagine a new requirement for net zero shipping might resurrect nuclear cargo ships, but any suggestion international shipping should go nuclear will be stomped by the very people who claim we need to reduce CO2 emissions. Greens rarely support “solutions” to an issue they claim is a planetary emergency, unless the solutions involve victimhood and embracing global communism.