The international regime for disposal of wastes at sea is established, under the overarching provisions of UNCLOS, in the 1972 London Convention for the prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter and its 1996 Protocol. In the London Protocol “dumping” is defined as “any deliberate disposal into the sea” or else “any storage of wastes and other matter in the seabed and the subsoil thereof” (Art. 1.4). The legal regime set forth in the Protocol is based on two main rules: the prohibition of all dumping at sea (art. 4) except for a small list of wastes specified in Annex 1 (the so called “reverse listing system”) and the prohibition of export of wastes for dumping at sea (Art. 6). The rules of the London Protocol are applicable in all marine waters other than the internal waters of States, as well as in the seabed and the subsoil thereof (Art. 1,7).

The Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated in December 2015, came into force on November 4th. At the time of writing, more than 90 countries have ratified the agreement, and the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement is about the commence in Marrakech. The pace of ratifications and of its entry into force are unprecedented in international environmental law. Those who have not followed the climate negotiations closely may be forgiven for being surprised that the Paris Agreement is being hailed by many as a success. You will likely be concerned to learn that it accepts inadequate emission reduction targets and financial commitments from many Parties. These commitments collectively get the world to about a 3.5 degree increase in global average temperature, even if fully implemented.