‘Historic victory’ for small island states in Justice:_CO2 emissions will be considered marine pollutants

This has been ruled by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which also urges countries to implement measures to mitigate their polluting effect on the oceans.

An international ocean tribunal has just issued a “historic” legal opinion outlining countries’ obligations in the face of climate change. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS, a UN court on maritime law) has ruled that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions can be considered a marine pollutant. The court further affirmed that countries have a legal obligation to implement measures that mitigate their effect on the oceans. The ITLOS opinion was requested last September by a group of nine small island states in the Pacific and the Caribbean threatened by sea level rise: the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (‘COSIS’).

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