AN APPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The imperative to tackle climate change and its far-reaching consequences on both the
environment and humanity is unquestionable. Climate change is the most challenging global threat that
the planet has to face together. As one of the most pressing issues confronting human society, climate
change has brought immense challenges to almost all aspects of our lives. This is also the case with the
world’s oceans. In responding to its adverse impacts, the international community has faced legal,
political, and scientific challenges. This also applies to the law of the sea regime represented by the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It is on the basis of the foregoing that this paper
aims to appraise the impact of climate change on the environment and to examine how the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, can mitigate its effects. The paper finds that although the term
‘climate change’ is not expressly used in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
1982, the Convention nonetheless made far-reaching provisions relevant to addressing issues associated
with climate change. This paper recommends that for UNCLOS to meet its intended objectives, states must
demonstrate political will to ensure its effectiveness through full compliance with its provisions. Only then
can the true efficacy of UNCLOS be realized