Citing South China Sea Arbitral Award, Philippines Calls on ITLOS to Protect Oceans Against Climate Change

Philippine Ambassador Carlos Sorreta speaks before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, with the members of the Philippine legal team behind him.  (Photo Source: ITLOS)

HAMBURG 21 September 2023 - The Philippines urged the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 19 September 2023 to rule that States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) have obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment from climate change.

Citing the statement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. at last year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that “climate change is the greatest threat affecting our nations and peoples” the Philippine legal team delivered a one-hour presentation of the legal, political and scientific basis for its arguments.

The Philippines submitted that to address climate change, States have the binding obligations, among others, not to harm the marine environment through greenhouse gas emissions, and to enact and enforce measures to prevent marine pollution and protect and preserve the marine environment from the effects of climate change.  

It further submitted that UNCLOS is an important and indispensable  legal instrument in the fight against climate change.   The Philippines asserted that “while climate change was not yet a prominent concern during the negotiations and adoption of UNCLOS in 1982, there is no other way to interpret its provisions without taking into account climate change and its effects on the marine environment.”  In the field of international environmental law, various international agreements on environmental protection build upon each other to create a normative synergy between past, present and future agreements.  

The Philippines, along with other states, also emphasized the importance of the South China Sea Arbitration, which extensively discussed state obligations under UNCLOS in the protection and preservation of the marine environment. 

The Philippines stressed, “the South China Sea Arbitration…provides a most authoritative determination on the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. It pronounced legal doctrines that could help determine the outcome of these proceedings.” Further, it is  “legally binding international law, with its proceedings faithfully carried out in accordance with UNCLOS.” Noting that the arbitral award “has been cited by this Tribunal itself,” the Philippines declared that “its validity cannot be assailed.”

The Philippines’ oral statement was in response to the request for an Advisory Opinion by the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS) on Climate Change and International Law on the specific obligations under UNCLOS to protect and preserve the marine environment in connection with climate change brought about by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

In its closing arguments, the Philippines recalled that in President Marcos’ statement at UNGA, he emphasized that “there is no other problem so global in nature that it requires a unified effort.” It exhorted the Tribunal that its decision, “as a consequence of today’s proceeding, could, and should, be a crucial and pivotal part of these efforts.”

The Philippine legal team was headed by Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, with Ambassador Maria Angela A. Ponce, Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO), and Assistant Solicitor General Gilbert U. Medrano of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). They were joined by Philippine Ambassador to Germany, Irene Susan B. Natividad.  

The Philippines’ full oral statement can be viewed at https://www.itlos.org/en/. END

The Philippine legal team was headed by Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, with Ambassador Maria Angela A. Ponce, Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO), and Assistant Solicitor General Gilbert U. Medrano of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). They were joined by Philippine Ambassador to Germany, Irene Susan B. Natividad.  (photo from ITLOS)

For more information, visit https://www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph,  https://www.facebook.com/PHinGeneva/  or https://www.instagram.com/phingeneva/ .