Summary/Abstract
The compatibility of marine climate engineering with the requirements of the international law of the sea cannot be analyzed categorically. Rather, the assessment ought to differentiate between the specific technologies, depending on: (1) the mode of operation of the technology concerned, (2) the objectives pursued with it, (3) the area where the technology is deployed, and (4) the environmental risks involved in the technology. For example, as far as the legality of ocean iron fertilization in areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction is concerned, the central question to be addressed is whether the introduction of iron into the marine environment can be considered as a placement of matter for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof that is not contrary to the aims of the pertinent agreements.
While the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea was, according to its preamble, concluded in a spirit to “settle […] all issues relating to the law of the sea” and thus provides a legal framework that has been envisaged to be applicable also to modern developments, the examples of ocean iron fertilization, ocean upwelling and marine stratus cloud modification demonstrate that there is a clear need in the “post-codification era” to substantiate the general requirements contained in the Convention by way of establishing specific sub-regimes. This paper assesses those needs.