The world’s highest court dealing with the oceans said on Tuesday that excessive greenhouse gases were pollutants that can cause irreversible harm to the marine environment.
The groundbreaking advisory opinion was unanimous, and experts say it could lead to more wide-ranging claims for damages against polluting nations.
The opinion by the court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, is not binding, but it said that, legally, nations must take all necessary measures to reduce, control and prevent marine pollution caused by human-made greenhouse gas emissions.
The stance taken by the tribunal, which sometimes called the Oceans Court, is likely to affect how other international and national courts address the growing dangers posed by greenhouse gases that cause the heating and acidification of the oceans.
Acidification, which is also harmful to sea life and can alter marine food webs, happens as ocean waters absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas warming the world.
Organizations:
Tribunal