Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification, the changing chemistry of the oceans as they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is likely to transform many aspects of the global marine environment by mid century, with severe impacts expected for calcifying organisms. This chapter examines how ocean acidification is currently addressed in international law, and what the future may hold in store for the regulation of one of the most pressing threats to the marine environment. It is seen that ocean acidification is currently not directly addressed by any treaty regime, and is indirectly regulated by an uncoordinated assortment of environmental treaties and soft law instruments. The precautionary principle, and the desirability of setting clear sustainability goals for the oceans, suggests the need for the international community to set a single upper limit for the atmospheric concentration of CO2 to match both climate change and ocean acidification mitigation goals, as both environmental problems are symptoms of the same underlying cause – human interference with the global carbon cycle.