Integrating Climate Change into Global Ocean Governance: The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on the Specific Obligations of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

2024/06/30 by Yuncheng Deng, Haiwen Zhang, Arti Pratap +3 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #International Maritime Law Issues #Arctic and Russian Policy Studies #Coastal and Marine Management

paper · pdf · doi:10.59711/jims.11.110011

openalex publication_date 2024/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21

Abstract

Climate change is having a significant impact on small island states and the adaptation to climate change is likely to become increasingly critical as the phenomenon intensifies. Despite growing attention to the effects of climate change on small island states, substantive progress remains limited. In order to obtain more multi-dimensional solutions for the climate crisis, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law submitted a request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on 12 December 2022. After going through written proceedings, oral proceedings, etc., the tribunal delivered a unanimous Advisory Opinion in this Case on 21 May 2024. The replies to two questions may mark the beginning of a new era for incorporating climate change into global ocean governance.

Citations

• The Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Ecosystems and Reliant Human Communities

Cited by

• Artificial Intelligence in Combating Climate Change in the Pacific Island Countries: Challenges, Barriers, and Pathways Forward
• Can climate advisory opinions effectively shape maritime carbon-reduction laws?

Discussions

• Deng, Y. et al. Integrating Climate Change into Global Ocean Governance: The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on the Specific Obligations of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Oceans and Climate Change: Synergy and Conflict in International Law
• Climate Justice through International Courts and Tribunals: Advisory Opinions in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
• Assessing the Role of International Judicial Advisory Opinions in the Evolution of International Environmental Law in Response to Climate Change
• The 2025 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change
• Governing novel climate interventions in rapidly changing oceans