We are thrilled to invite you to the Kurt Grönfors Lecture 2024. This year’s Lecture will delve into the critical nexus between the ocean and climate from an international legal perspective. On the backdrop of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) advisory opinion on Climate Change and International Law, Professor Alexander Proelss, from the University of Hamburg, will deliver his keynote lecture on the implications of this landmark advisory opinion. His insights will shed light on the role of international law in mitigating climate impacts on marine ecosystems and the responsibilities of states under evolving legal norms. This lecture promises to be an invaluable opportunity to engage with cutting-edge developments in international law and its intersection with climate change.
This year, we will also have the participation of Professor Erik Røsæg (University of Oslo), Snjólaug Árnadóttir (Reykjavik University), Angelique Pouponneau (Senior Advisor, University of New South Wales Sustainable Development Reform Centre), Niels Krabbe (University of Gothenburg) and Gabriela Argüello (University of Gothenburg).
Programme
Welcome remarks
Professor Lena Gipperth – University of Gothenburg
Keynote Lecture: Counteracting the fragmentation of international law: ITLOS and the climate-ocean nexus
Professor Alexander Proelss – University of Hamburg
On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) rendered its advisory opinion in the case “Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law.” This advisory opinion brings to an end the first proceedings that were initiated at an intergovernmental level, in which an international judicial mechanism has been used to compel the international community to take more stringent environmental protection measures in order to help achieve the global temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The lecture will present key elements of the landmark advisory opinion and provide an initial assessment. Particular attention will be devoted to the interplay between the international law of the sea and international climate change law. It will be shown that by interpreting the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in accordance with international law on climate change, ITLOS has made a significant contribution to a holistic understanding that counters the fragmentation of international law.
Comments to Prof. Proelss’ presentation with emphasis on private law repercussions of climate change measures
Professor Erik Røsæg – University of Oslo
Sea level rise and its implications for the law of the sea
Snjólaug Árnadóttir - Associate Professor, Reykjavik University
The ITLOS Advisory Opinion – A case for high seas protection
Angelique Pouponneau - Senior Advisor, University of New South Wales Sustainable Development Reform Centre
Policy dilemmas in the deployment of offshore climate technology
Gabriela Argüello – Associate Senior Lecturer, University of Gothenburg
Panel discussion
Moderator: Niels Krabbe – Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Gothenburg
About the participants
Lena Gipperth is a Professor in environmental law at the School of Business Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. Her principal research focus is on the governance of water and marine resources and how to legally implement environmental objectives. She is involved in a number of transdisciplinary programs focusing on environmental pressures from multiple sources like chemicals, the protection and restoration of marine habitats, and financial markets’ consideration of biodiversity. She is also a driving actor in several collaboration platforms like the cross-faculty Center for Sea and Society at University of Gothenburg, the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment and WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association).
Alexander Proelss is a Professor and holds the Chair in the International Law of the Sea and International Environmental Law, Public International Law and Public Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hamburg, where he is also the Director of the Institute for the Law of the Sea and for Maritime Law (ISSR). While international environmental law and the international law of the sea constitute the focal points of his research, he has also published extensively on issues of general international law, European Union law, and constitutional law. He has been a member of several national and international research consortia and has advised State agencies, international organizations and private actors both in Germany and abroad at numerous occasions. Before joining the University of Hamburg in 2018, he was Professor for Public Law, in particular Public International Law and European Union Law, and Director of the Institute of Environmental Law (IUTR), at Trier University.
Erik Røsæg is a Professor at the Institute of Private Law, University of Oslo; formerly Director of the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law and seconded to the Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order, both at the University of Oslo. Has been employed by the University of Oslo since 1982, except a period in the Ministry of Justice 1995-96. Chair of several national and international working groups. Works with maritime law, law of the sea and third-party relations in private law.
Snjólaug Árnadóttir is an Associate Professor at Reykjavik University, Department of Law, where she teaches public international law, law of the sea and international environmental law. Snjólaug is Director of the Centre for Law on Climate Change and Sustainability (CLoCCS) at Reykjavik University and a member of the International Law Association Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise.
Angelique Pouponneau is a lawyer in the Seychelles and holds an LL.M. in Environmental Law, specializing in the law of the sea and natural resources law. She was formerly the Chief of Staff to the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action and Just Transitions. She previously served as a policy and strategy adviser on ocean and climate matters to the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States and, prior to that, held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles’ Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust. In 2021, The New African Magazine recognized her as one of the 100 most influential African. Angelique has worked in different countries in the Caribbean, Pacific and the Indian Ocean on a wide range of projects relating to sustainable fisheries, sustainable management of marine biodiversity within and beyond national jurisdiction. She serves on the advisory board of the UN Ocean Decade.
Niels Krabbe is a Postdoctoral researcher in international law at the School of Business, Economics, and Law at Gothenburg University, Sweden, where he also received his Ph.D. His research focuses on the legal aspects of maritime activities, in particular how to address biodiversity and climate impacts in a fragmented governance structure. In both research and teaching, he combines academic perspectives with experience working in maritime policy. He has been involved in major multilateral ocean negotiations, including as lead on Sweden’s EU Presidency team during the final negotiations of the new UN oceans agreement (BBNJ).
Gabriela Argüello is an Associate Senior Lecturer at the School of Business, Economics, and Law at Gothenburg University. She is also a Research Fellow financed by The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. Gabriela specializes in the law of the sea and ocean governance. Her research interests focus on interdisciplinary global environmental challenges related to the oceans and involving multi-scale actors (States, international organizations, industries, and civil society organizations). She has researched various topics, including waste management, pesticides, ship recycling, ship source pollution, ocean governance, and energy transitions.
The Kurt Grönfors Lecture series is a recurring and open seminar series with themes linked to Kurt Grönfors' broad research interests. Read more about the series here.
