1,720,996 research outputs found
Incentivising the adoption of a global liability regime for transboundary harm from offshore oil and gas incidents
No full textIn June 2017, Heads of States convened in New York to uphold their “strong commitment” to ensure the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.1 This direction is by no means novel. The sovereign right of States to exploit natural resources located under the seabed within their jurisdiction has traditionally been counterbalanced by their general obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment and to prevent transboundary harm to neighbouring States. This thesis examines how the integration of the precautionary principle within the obligation of States to prevent transboundary harm from offshore activities under their jurisdiction contributes in the development of international environmental law to align with established international policy objectives. It advances that this integration refines the procedural and substantive facets of the obligation so as to require States to adopt one or more liability regime(s) dealing with such harm. Ultimately, it purports to present a legal argument in support of a policy action which adequately balances the aforesaid obligation and the sovereign right of States to exploit natural resources offshore. In doing so, it contributes towards the attainment of sustainable development
What next for the IMO’s decarbonisation efforts?
No full textThe shipping industry is facing a challenge to play its part in achieving the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. As vital as the industry is for global trade and the global economy, it can no longer benefit from exceptional treatment compared to other crucial sectors (eg road transport, aviation, housing, etc). The political deadlock during the recent 76th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) highlighted serious concerns hampering negotiations between various groups of stakeholders around proposed decarbonisation measures. If real progress is to be made during the Committee’s next session in November, future diplomatic efforts must aim to ease those concerns by focusing on designing a mechanism to offset the potential unequal negative impacts which the introduction of measures could have on different groups of states, their economies and populations
The Environment Bill's policy statement on environmental principles: a golden opportunity for a principled framework for the sustainable management of UK waters
No full textThe Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs recently ran a consultation inviting expert input to determine how United Kingdom (UK) policymakers would be guided by five internationally recognised environmental principles when making policy affecting the environment. The principles are listed in a draft of the Policy Statement on Environmental Principles, a ground-breaking novelty of the Environment Bill – which is currently passing through the House of Lords. This article comments on this promising development with a focus on its implications for the development and implementation of policies for the protection of the marine environment. It advances that, while there is a lot of promise in the Bill creating a legally binding duty on Ministers across Whitehall to have due regard to the Statement while developing high-level strategic policies around marine environmental protection, it seems to exclude local authorities who are in charge of developing Marine Plans within the existing UK marine planning framework. This omission is problematic as it fails to recognise the crucial role which these authorities play in the actual delivery of nationally-developed high-level marine environmental protection policies and consequently weakens Her Majesty’s Government’s status as a global leader in this space
A response to DESNZ call for evidence on greenhouse gas removals: input to the independent review
Full text linkA response to the call for evidence on Greenhouse Gas Removals: Input to the Independent Review by DESNZ, providing evidence and policy recommendations in relation to the following question 7: What are the barriers to and enablers of GGR deployment in the UK
Decarbonisation and shipping post-COP26
No full textThis article examines the latest developments affecting the shipping industry’s decarbonisation efforts on the back of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee’s 77th session (MEPC77). It is argued that a public role for the shipping industry is crystallising, and an enabling environment for co-regulation, via the development of policies, measures and programmes in cooperation with the IMO, is neatly falling into place. Opinions diverge on whether COP26, held in late 2021, succeeded in setting global efforts to fight climate change on the right course to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100. Pledges to phase out the use of coal power (despite the toned-down language adopted in the Glasgow Climate Pact), end deforestation, cut methane emissions, and the US–China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action were all promising announcements, although dependent on the voluntary action of their signatories. With the protection of our oceans moving higher up the policy agenda, not least thanks to a growing emphasis on nature-based solutions and the adaptation to the risks of acidification and rising sea levels, the role of the shipping industry, one of the main human activities impairing our oceans’ health, came under the spotlight once more. This was reinforced by the chronological proximity of the Glasgow event and MEPC77, where the deliberation of proposals for an improved zero-emission by 2050 target was a key item on the agenda
Draft Policy Statement on Environmental Principles
Full text linkThis is a response to a consultation from the department for environment food and rural affairs (DEFRA) around the draft policy statement on environmental principles and the Environment Bill.<br/
Net zero aviation and shipping: a response to an inquiry from the Environmental Audit Committee
No full textPerformance-based regulation and the development of international regulatory uniformity in offshore oil and gas operations
No full textThis chapter analyses several national regulatory regimes as part of a positive analysis. Their similarities and differences form the basis for assessing the degree if international harmonisation amongst them. The normative analysis is based in Aalders' and Wilthagen's four stategies for "regulating the self-regulators": systems monitoring, intermediary structures and networks, corporate social responsibility, and other market-oriented regulatory tools. In the end, the examination will show that progress in harmonisation of systems monitoring has been the result of companies' need to develop uniformity in their safety management systems. The other three strategies are less developed. In short, there is no international quasi-regulation of the offshore industry, despite the harmonisation of some of the industrial standards within groups of companies
Enacting the new UK Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Fishing Vessels of less than 15m Length Overall
Full text linkWith a fatality rate of approximately 100 times higher than the general UK workforce, commercial fishing remains the most dangerous peacetime occupation in the UK. There is an importance of improving the safety in the UK fishing industry, aligning with The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, aiming to promote decent work for all
Pathways to a blue economy
No full textCharting a path to a blue economy is imperative to avoid major climate change and irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, the wider environment and society. The blue-ness of the future ocean economy and the associated health of the oceans and our planet will be determined by the pathways chosen, the strategies developed and decisions made now. Here, through bibliometric analysis, multidisciplinary literature review and data synthesis, we present prospective pathways that define different future ocean economies. The intention is to provoke interdisciplinary debate, exchange of ideas, further research and action towards shifting the ocean economy from grey to blue. We show that a business-as-usual pathway that sustains the current grey ocean economy will lead to accelerated violation of planetary boundaries and ultimately destruction of the natural capital on which the ocean economy and humanity depend; that a probable pathway, based on optimistic trends, which attempt to meet the conflicting increasing demand of populations globally and need to curb carbon emissions, is insufficient to meet decarbonisation and broader sustainability targets; and that a pathway to transition to a blue economy requires ambitious proactive strategies and immediate decisions, based on principles that aspire to the collaborative, fair and sustainable use of the ocean.</p
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