International Court Backs Need to Protect Oceans and Island Nations from Climate Impacts

In a historic development, a recent opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recognizes global warming emissions as a marine pollutant. While nonbinding, the unanimous advisory opinion offers important support for small island nations facing climate impacts and raises the bar for other nations to reduce their global warming emissions to protect the world’s oceans.

Background

Back in December, 2022, a group of small island nations, under the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, submitted a request to the tribunal (pictured above in Hamburg, Germany). They sought to clarify the obligations of state parties under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), specifically regarding their duties to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment in the context of climate…