CRAFTING AN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY ON THE HIGH SEAS

摘要

Ocean renewable energy (ORE) technologies, such as wind, waves, and biomass harvesting, have rapidly advanced and are proliferating around the world. This Article considers whether existing Law of the Sea sufficiently manages ORE development on the high seas and, if not, what type of regime would best effectuate a sustainable and just allocation of such resources. Part Ⅱ introduces ORE systems, highlighting factors that will push ORE development further from shore out into the high seas beyond national jurisdiction. Part Ⅲ considers whether the existing international legal framework for allocating ocean resources, principally the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), can adequately govern ORE development on the high seas. In finding existing treaties and mechanisms are insufficient, this Part forewarns that disorderly development will likely lead to overexploitation and unjust resource allocations, potentially sparking geopolitical tensions and ecological disaster. Part Ⅳ explores alternative ocean resource management regimes, such as expanded exclusive zones for renewable energy administered by individual nations, regional organizations, and a global administrative authority. Parts Ⅴ and Ⅵ conclude that a hybrid approach, which combines the most advantageous elements of each alternative, is necessary and exhort the United Nations to either call for a new convention or adopt a high seas ORE implementing agreement as an annex to the existing LOSC.