SMALL ISLAND STATES, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE LAW OF THE SEA: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REQUEST FROM ITLOS FOR AN ADVISORY OPINION, BEFORE THE DECISION

Manti N. P.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS, Prof. Dr. Hasret Çomak,Burak Şakir Şeker, Editör, TP London, London, ss.1-19, 2024

  • Yayın Türü: Kitapta Bölüm / Araştırma Kitabı
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Yayınevi: TP London
  • Basıldığı Şehir: London
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-19
  • Editörler: Prof. Dr. Hasret Çomak,Burak Şakir Şeker, Editör
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The interplay between the ocean and climate change is gaining a new dimension. Small Island States are among the most vulnerable of all, and many island nations are struggling to escape the effects of the climate change, which accelerates the degradation of the natural resources that underpin their economies, causing sea level rise, which leads to the salinization of rivers and lakes and therefore, scarcity of fresh water resources, and decline of coral reefs and fish stocks, which are the basis of their economies and eroding coastlines battered by intensifying storms.
On December 12, 2022, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law1 (COSIS) filed an application before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a request for an advisory opinion on the State Parties’ obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment from climate change, and to protect and preserve the marine environment in relation to climate change impacts2 .
The Tribunal will deliberate on the case and is expected to issue an advisory opinion on May 21, 2024, and this piece will provide the background and the framework for the ITLOS advisory opinion on effects of the climate change in general as written down before the May 21.