Islands appeal to UN court to protect the oceans – 09/11/2023 – Environment

Leaders of some small island states appealed this Monday (11) to the TIDM (International Court for the Law of the Sea), based in Hamburg, Germany, to ask for the protection of the oceans in the face of catastrophic climate change that threatens the existence of countries integers.

The nine island states ask this court, created based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to determine whether CO emissions_two absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollution and, if so, what obligations countries have to avoid them.

“The time has come to speak in terms of legally binding obligations rather than empty promises that are not fulfilled,” said Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, addressing the court.

Ocean ecosystems produce half the oxygen that humans breathe and limit global warming by absorbing much of the CO_two of human activities. But increased emissions could warm and acidify marine waters, harming marine life.

UNCLOS defines pollution as the introduction by humans of “substances or energy into the marine environment” that may harm marine life. The text does not mention CO emissions_two as a specific pollutant, but the plaintiffs maintain that they meet the requirements.

“We are discussing measures that [os Estados] must take by virtue of the law, not political good will”, said Catherine Amirfar, legal advisor to the group of States, to the press.

Small islands are especially exposed to the impact of global warming and rising sea levels, which could submerge entire countries.

According to the European Copernicus observatory, ocean surface temperatures reached a record 21°C in August, after months of historic warming.

Bahamas, Tuvalu, Niue, Palau, Vanuatu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also joined the petition to the TIDM.