Rapid-response Reflections on the ITLOS Advisory Opinion
Date: 30 May 2024
Time: 09.00 - 10.00 (UK time)
Venue: Online
Webinar Details
Small Island Developing Nations are seeking protection for the world's oceans from catastrophic climate change that threatens their existence.
A crucial step in this effort was achieved on 21 May 2024. For the first time, an international judicial body addressed the obligations of the 168 States parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) concerning climate change impacts on the oceans, such as ocean acidification and sea level rise. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruled unanimously that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions absorbed by the oceans constitute 'pollution of the marine environment' due to their harmful effects on marine ecosystems and marine biodiversity. This means GHG emissions, introduced directly or indirectly into the oceans, whether from CO2-emitting industrial facilities, aeroplanes, or vessels, are now recognised as a form of ocean pollution that must be controlled, mitigated, and eventually eliminated.
ITLOS Advisory Opinion may have far-reaching implications for ongoing climate-related cases, including those by the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Please join us at this discussion event to hear from esteemed international law practitioners about the implications of the ITLOS advisory opinion on future and ongoing climate-related cases.
Watch a Recording of the Webinar
Chair
Dr Constantinos Yiallourides, BIICL
Speakers
- Prof. Dr Christina Voigt, University of Oslo; IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law
- Monica Feria-Tinta, Twenty Essex
- Dr Ivano Alogna, BIICL
