1982 Law of the Sea Convention and the regulation of offshore renewable energy activities within national jurisdiction
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Date
01/08/2020Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
01/08/2025Author
Jung, Dawoon
Metadata
Abstract
Offshore renewable energy has been developed as an important source of
clean energy for achieving sustainable development and tackling climate
change. Whilst the generation of energy from the water, current and wind is
mentioned in the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention, this technology was in its
infancy at the time when the Convention was drafted and therefore various
challenges arising from offshore renewable energy activities were not foreseen.
This thesis examines the manner in which and the extent to which the LOS
Convention reinforces the regulation of offshore renewable energy activities.
In doing so, it considers the relationship between the LOS Convention and
subsequent instruments addressing offshore renewable energy activities with
a view to determining the ways in which the LOS Convention is able to
respond to the emergence of new uses of the marine environment.
The development of the law of the sea is a process of compromise between the
rights of the coastal States in relation to their maritime zones on the one hand
and the interests of other States in the lawful uses of the oceans on the other
hand. Whilst the LOS Convention was adopted in order to establish a stable
legal framework governing all uses of the oceans, the Convention provides a
certain degree of flexibility to accommodate new developments in the oceans.
Legal mechanisms, including rules of reference, regional rules, treaty
interpretation and soft law, can be used to elaborate the regulation of offshore
renewable energy activities while maintaining the balance of interests between
the coastal State and other States.
The thesis explores the different issues raised by the regulation of offshore
renewable energy activities, including environmental impact assessment,
environmental regulation from operations, safety of navigation, and
decommissioning. Each chapter highlights different mechanisms to elaborate
on relevant provisions of the LOS Convention. In addition, the last chapter of
the thesis discusses marine spatial planning as a policy tool for integrated
oceans management to deal with the issues arising from offshore renewable
energy activities in a comprehensive manner.
The thesis indicates that the LOS Convention is a living instrument, which
evolves to adapt to new challenges arising from offshore renewable energy
activities through different legal mechanisms. The LOS Convention provides
an adequate legal framework to interact, incorporate and supplement with
other legal instruments in the regulation of offshore renewable energy
activities.