May 24, 2024
Koror, Palau- Earlier this week, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered unanimously an advisory opinion on Climate Change and International Law, at the request of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Commission, in particular Niue, Palau, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, for their leadership on this important issue.
This Advisory Opinion confirms what we, in the Pacific Islands region, have long asserted: that the emissions of Green House Gases are indeed sources of pollution to the marine environment. In the Advisory Opinion, the Tribunal essentially recognizes that the provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention) apply to the consideration of GHG emissions, in particular provisions from part XII on the protection and preservation of the marine environment and to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution from anthropogenic GHG emissions.
This Advisory Opinion comforts our objectives and priorities as a Blue Pacific Continent as highlighted in the 2050 strategy. As a region with Ocean at its core, we have time and again recognized that climate change is the single greatest threat facing our region. It further confirms that what is a threat to us, is also a threat to our ocean, its species, and future generations. We thus must enforce appropriate measures against this existential threat that is climate change. In addition to robust mitigation measures, we must ensure that our activities in the ocean space do not overburden our ecosystems. We must ensure that we give our ecosystems and species adequate breathing space, including through the establishment of protected areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. We must also ensure that our peoples remain at the center and that they are included in the formulation of the best solutions for our ocean and our islands.
Next week, in Antigua and Barbuda at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, I will make sure to support our Leaders amplify this call.
Ends.
