Key Messages Briefing Note for the UN Ocean Conference 2025

The document asserts that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions constitute marine pollution, creating a legal duty for States to phase out fossil fuels. It examines how advisory opinions from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) reinforce the rights of vulnerable island States and establish standards of due diligence and corporate accountability for climate-related ocean harm.

• The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has established that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are a form of marine pollution that causes ocean warming, acidification, and sea level rise. Consequently, States are legally required to take all necessary measures to prevent, reduce, and control this pollution based on a stringent, objective standard of due diligence and the best available science, which necessitates the phaseout of fossil fuels, including offshore oil and gas.
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to provide an advisory opinion in summer 2025 regarding State duties to protect the climate system and the legal consequences of breaching those duties. Arguments before the ICJ emphasize that climate obligations extend beyond treaties like the Paris Agreement to include the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and human rights treaties, and that principles of territorial integrity and self-determination must apply despite sea level rise.
• Human rights law, as interpreted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, mandates the protection of the marine environment for the benefit of the international community and future generations. This includes a duty for States to regulate and oversee hazardous activities by private companies to prevent human rights violations, with particular protections for coastal and small island developing States.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2025). Key Messages Briefing Note for the UN Ocean Conference 2025. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Climate-Advisory-Opinions_Key-Messages-Briefing-Note-for-the-UN-Ocean-Conference-2025.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Key Messages Briefing Note for the UN Ocean Conference 2025. 2025. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Climate-Advisory-Opinions_Key-Messages-Briefing-Note-for-the-UN-Ocean-Conference-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Key Messages Briefing Note for the UN Ocean Conference 2025 |date=June 2025 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Climate-Advisory-Opinions_Key-Messages-Briefing-Note-for-the-UN-Ocean-Conference-2025.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2025key, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Key Messages Briefing Note for the UN Ocean Conference 2025}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Climate-Advisory-Opinions_Key-Messages-Briefing-Note-for-the-UN-Ocean-Conference-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }