The Law of the Sea is clear: countries must act on shipping’s climate impact. Opportunity Green calls on international court to declare that shipping is violating international law on marine protection

(20 June 2023) Climate NGO Opportunity Green has put forward a supporting submission to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) urging the Tribunal to consider shipping emissions in its opinion.

This submission will support a request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS).

Opportunity Green’s submission is calling on the Tribunal to clarify countries’ legal obligations to stop the pollution of the marine environment and protect it from climate change impacts. In particular, it urges the Tribunal to formally recognise that countries – whether at international or domestic level – must adopt rules on vessel pollution that are in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature goal to meet their legal obligations under the Law of the Sea. In practice, this will require states to agree ambitious measures to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships to achieve zero emissions by no later than 2050 at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in just a couple of weeks’ time.

There is currently no regulation in place that requires the international shipping sector to reduce emissions in line with 1.5°C and the Paris Agreement. The IMO has been discussing how to tackle shipping emissions for over two decades, but its Member States have yet to reach any meaningful agreement to get international shipping on a pathway to this goal. Instead, shipping emissions are currently on a pathway to increase significantly more than other sectors.

In the first week of July, the IMO is set to adopt a revised GHG Strategy. There has never been a more pressing moment to change the course of the shipping sector to align with the Paris Agreement. However, at the intersessional working group on greenhouse gas emissions this March (ISWG-GHG 14), Member States still failed to agree on what the targets should be or outline which regulatory measures they support.

Carly Hicks, Legal Director of Opportunity Green, says:

“We are hoping that ITLOS will issue an Advisory Opinion which sets out clearly that there is an obligation on all states to take active measures to protect the marine environment by reducing emissions from shipping in line with what is needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This kind of Advisory Opinion from a UN court would have to be taken seriously by the IMO – itself a UN body – as well as individual countries.”

The Advisory Opinion from the Tribunal will help to:

• Accelerate action by the IMO and its Member States to comply with international law by aligning with the Paris Agreement and setting concrete targets to achieve immediate, deep reductions in emissions and zero emissions by 2050 at the absolute latest.

• Ensure that the mitigation and adaptation needs of climate vulnerable countries – those worst affected by climate change – are met, and lay strong foundations for a fair and equitable transition.

• Confirm how the Law of the Sea empowers and obliges all countries, particularly ‘flag’ and ‘port’ states, to combat vessel pollution and hold the shipping industry accountable for its emissions.

Carly Hicks adds: “This last point is crucial when it comes to individual states’ obligations. Even if the IMO doesn’t bring the stringent legislation forward that we are hoping for, we would like to see the Tribunal confirm that countries have unilateral obligations to act to ensure shipping emissions are reduced in line with international law.”

Notes to editors

Opportunity Green is an NGO working to unlock the opportunities from tackling climate change using law, economics, and policy. We do this by amplifying diverse voices, forging ambitious collaborations and using legal innovation to motivate decision makers and achieve climate justice, with particular emphasis on the aviation and shipping industries.

Shipping is responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gases and this is set to rise dramatically without significant intervention. Increasing demand for shipping services means that maritime emissions are accelerating faster than many other sectors.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been very clear: unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in GHG emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C, or even 2°C, will be beyond reach. Given the likely challenge of near-term reductions by 2030, international shipping will need to achieve at least 80% reductions in GHG emissions by 2040 to be aligned to the 1.5°C science.

Upcoming climate talks on shipping take place at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the global shipping regulator. The week-long 15th intersessional working group on greenhouse gas emissions (ISWG-GHG 15) discussions start on 24 June, followed by the 80th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) talks on 3 July. These are widely regarded as the last opportunity to make the IMO’s Strategy on GHGs align with a 1.5°C pathway.

Media contacts:

Carly Hicks
Legal Director, Opportunity Green
carly@opportunitygreen.org

Hannah Jolliffe

Communications Manager, Opportunity Green
hannah@opportunitygreen.org