PM Browne welcomes historic decision on climate justice

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has expressed his satisfaction with a groundbreaking decision on climate justice in support of a coalition of Small Island States, including Antigua and Barbuda.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has ruled in favor of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS), stating that greenhouse gas emissions absorbed by the ocean should be considered marine pollution, and that states are obligated to protect the world’s oceans by reducing these emissions.

Prime Minister Browne, who presented the case on behalf of small states last year, emphasized the significance of the ITLOS opinion, stating that it will shape future legal and diplomatic efforts to address the inaction that has brought us to the edge of an irreversible disaster.

“The decision marks a historic milestone in our collective journey towards environmental justice and climate governance. The ITLOS opinion will inform our future legal and diplomatic work in putting an end to the inaction that has brought us to the brink of an irreversible disaster”, he said

The small island state of Antigua and Barbuda, along with eight other small island states, requested the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to clarify the responsibilities of states regarding climate change under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The UNCLOS, which has 164 countries as parties but notably excludes the United States, requires signatories to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution.

However, it does not explicitly identify greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants, leading the island nations to seek clarification on this matter. They also sought guidance on what actions countries should take to reduce emissions and their impact on the oceans.

In the submissions to the proceedings, most countries acknowledged that greenhouse gas emissions pollute the oceans but disagreed on the obligations imposed by the maritime treaty regarding their actions related to climate change.

China and India challenged the tribunal’s jurisdiction, arguing that climate change issues should be handled within the UN climate change (UNFCCC) regime.

Wealthy nations, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia, accepted the tribunal’s authority to give an opinion on the matter but stated that the rules and procedures necessary to address climate change and comply with the requirements of UNCLOS are laid out in the Paris Agreement. They emphasized that the tribunal’s opinion should not impose more stringent obligations than those already agreed upon in the Paris Agreement.

However, the tribunal took a different view, stating that complying with the obligations and commitments under the Paris Agreement would not be enough to satisfy a country’s duty to protect the oceans.

This is because the Paris Agreement does not require countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to any specific level according to a mandatory timeline, leaving them the freedom to set their own climate goals.

The tribunal’s opinion confirmed that the obligations under the Paris Agreement set a floor, not a ceiling for states to act to prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

The ocean, one of the planet’s greatest carbon sinks, absorbs about 25% of all carbon dioxide emitted by human activities and has captured 90% of the excess heat generated by those emissions. Global oceans are experiencing unprecedented heat, with surface temperature records being broken every day since March 2023.

For small island states, combatting global warming is a matter of survival.

The South Pacific nation of Tuvalu could be completely submerged by the end of the century at current rates of emissions and without extensive measures to adjust to climate change.