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Cambridge Journal of Climate Research

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3050-2020

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End date: 2025 × Subject: IMO ×

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Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Oceans and Climate Change: Synergy and Conflict in International Law
    (2024-12) Puno, Railla Veronica
    The science is clear that climate change has profound impacts on oceans and vice versa. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that climate change is projected to cause ocean warming and ocean acidification, among others. At the same time, oceans have the potential to contribute greatly to adaptation and mitigation efforts that will allow us to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. From the implementation of marine protected areas to the more controversial ocean fertilisation efforts, the global ocean, which covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, has the potential to play a major role in climate action. Despite these strong linkages, the development of international law on oceans and climate change has been relatively slow. It was only in recent years that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has dedicated a workstream for oceans through the Ocean Pathway, an initiative which paved the way for the Ocean Dialogue, a recurring process with the purpose of strengthening ocean-based action. As these various environmental agreements come up with new policies and mandates, instances of legal conflict cannot be avoided. This paper will take an in-depth study of the current international legal frameworks governing oceans and climate change to determine where opportunities for synergy can be optimised and conflicts can be resolved by examining two cases of legal overlap.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    An Orchestrated Governance Approach: Tracing the International Maritime Organization’s Development and Adoption of the Polar Code
    (2024-12) Pham, Khang Minh
    The increase in Arctic maritime traffic induced by climate change has prompted the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to develop and adopt the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). While previous research on the governance of the IMO in the Arctic has addressed topics such as plastic waste management, the normative influence of international bureaucracies, and the implementation of the Polar Code from state and industrial perspectives, no study has specifically applied the concept of orchestration to Arctic maritime shipping and the development and adoption of the Polar Code. This paper seeks to fill this gap by using orchestration as an analytical framework to examine how the IMO orchestrated the development and adoption of the Polar Code, especially in response to climate-induced challenges. The analysis draws on documents from the IMO and Arctic Council (AC), along with previous research on Arctic shipping. Qualitative discourse analysis and process tracing are used to explore the data. Findings suggest that the IMO’s orchestration was facilitated by its recognised leadership in maritime governance, but was constrained by capability deficits in Arctic-specific issues. The organization navigated divergent stakeholder interests and sovereignty concerns by engaging the AC and Arctic states as key intermediaries. Orchestration enabled the creation of a comprehensive regulatory framework balancing safety, environmental protection, and commercial interests. However, the article also reveals limitations in addressing critical issues such as the use of heavy fuel oil. These findings contribute to the array of empirical evidence on transnational environmental governance and the evolving regulatory landscape in polar regions.