Global environmental regulation of offshore energy production: searching for legal standards in ocean governance

Abstract

The international environmental regulation of all types of energy generation activities at sea is first and foremost anchored to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). However, both at the global and regional levels, UNCLOS is complemented by an array of evolving environmental agreements. These normative developments can put flesh on the bare bones of the general (due diligence) obligation of States to protect the marine environment with regard to offshore energy activities. Parallel to binding obligations under environmental agreements, there are a variety of non‐binding instruments, which can also play a key role in enriching the content of prevention obligations. Depending on their source, their form and the procedure by which they are adopted, these non‐binding pronouncements may become legally relevant as interpretative guidance or standard of proof that a State has exercised due diligence. In this context, the article posits that synergies among environmental instruments and the interaction of non‐binding instruments with binding rules of international law can fill the current legal gaps and strengthen the international legal standards for the regulation of this environmentally sensitive sector.