Summary/Abstract
This Article examines two particularly important areas in which climate change is exposing fundamental gaps in existing systems of global governance. The first of these is governance of the Arctic Ocean at the edges of the existing regulatory reach of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The second of these is the complete absence, for all practical purposes, of a governance regime applicable to geoengineering research and experimentation. These seemingly distinct issues are examined together for two reasons. First, they raise two of the most pressing global governance challenges today. Second, global efforts to address Arctic and geoengineering governance gaps pose discreet opportunities for the global community to debate, refine and advance the normative framework and institutional structures for management of the global commons. In both contexts, the questions asked and the answers offered will offer insight into larger questions of global environmental governance.