10 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the International Symposium on ” Ocean Governance in the New Era: Current Challenges and the Law of the Sea” Organized by Global Governance Institution

Dr Oral spoke in the session on Sea Level Rise and International Law. Append below is the abstract on her talk on “The Gaps between the UNCLOS and Climate Change Threats to the Ocean”:

When the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was signed on 10 December 1982 after nine years of lengthy negotiations, climate change was not yet on the agenda of the international community. Forty years later, climate change has emerged as one of the greatest challenges to the environmental well-being of the planet, including for the marine environment. Sea level rise caused by melting glaciers and ice sheets as well as warming oceans may impact existing maritime boundaries and the associated entitlements of coastal States. Ocean acidification, deoxygenation and chemistry changes are serious threats to ocean marine biodiversity, especially coral reefs, fisheries and other marine life. The lecture will examine the gaps in UNCLOS and possible options to address these legal gaps.