25-27 November 2025: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law to Speak at ASEAN-MPFPR Workshop on “Climate Change Impacts on the Oceans & Challenges to the Law of the Sea”. 

The impact of climate change on the oceans presents profound challenges not only towards marine ecosystems and coastal communities but also for the legal framework that governs oceans. As the ocean absorbs 93 percent of the excess heat generated by the enhanced greenhouse effect and approximately 30 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, it undergoes significant changes, such as sea level rise, increased sea-surface temperatures, acidification, and amplified storm intensity. These physical transformations raise critical legal questions, particularly concerning the capacity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to address these evolving realities.

UNCLOS, often referred to as the ‘constitution of the oceans’, was adopted to govern a myriad of issues concerning the world’s oceans. However, its provisions were not necessarily designed to anticipate the sweeping changes brought about by climate change and global warming. Challenges, such as ‘ambulatory baselines’ in the face of sea-level rise, the potential loss of maritime zones, and the detrimental effects of climate change on the marine environment, test the traditional framework of the Convention and raise questions about its ability to adequately address these emerging issues. Moreover, these challenges highlight the need for greater integration between the legal framework governing the oceans and other legal regimes focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation, ensuring a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to global environmental governance.

This workshop, titled “Climate Change Impacts on the Oceans and Challenges to the Law of the Sea”, will explore how the law of the sea can adapt to these unprecedented challenges. By focusing, among other, on Southeast Asia — a region which may particularly be vulnerable to climate change impacts, the workshop will provide a platform for examining these and other issues from a regional perspective.

Nilufer spoke in the session on “Sea Level Rise and the Law of the Sea”.