Ocean governance must be grounded in international law by UN Office for Human Rights   24 Feb. 2026   UN experts today urged States to ensure that any new regulations governing the deep seabed, including a code on mining, are firmly grounded in international law, including international human rights law, and implement the precautionary principle.   “The deep seabed is not an industrial frontier, it is one of the most fragile and least understood ecosystems on Earth, and its protection is a legal obligation under international law and human rights law,” the experts said, ahead of the 31st session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). “Any regulatory framework must reflect States’ binding obligation to protect the environment and the climate system and prevent human rights and environmental harm.”   The UN experts recalled recent Advisory Opinions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) which clarify obligations to protect the ocean and the climate system. Under customary international law, States have obligations to protect the marine environment and the climate system that are owed to the international community as a whole – obligations that require stringent due diligence.   The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, which recently came into force, strengthens this legal framework. All these international obligations must be considered and respected by the International Seabed Authority.   The experts also reminded that businesses have obligations and responsibilities with respect to the protection of the environment and the climate system, and their impacts on human rights, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.   “The deep seabed hosts most of the ocean’s estimated one million species, sustains global biodiversity, and constitutes the planet’s largest carbon sink, thus being critical for climate regulation,” the experts said.   They warned that deep-sea mining linked with the rush to critical minerals poses serious environmental, climate and human rights risks. Scientific research increasingly suggests that such mining could cause severe and potentially irreversible damage to marine biodiversity, disperse toxic pollutants, destroy seafloor habitats, release stored carbon, and disrupt ocean carbon sequestration processes.   In addition, mining operations are highly energy-intensive and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions which aggravate the climate crisis and its adverse human rights impacts.   “Courts have concluded that the precautionary principle must be respected when there is scientific uncertainty about how to effectively prevent significant or irreversible harm to the environment and to human health of present and future generations, as in the case of deep-sea bed mining” the experts said.   Indigenous Peoples, small-scale fishers, and Small Island Developing States rely heavily on healthy marine ecosystems for food security, livelihoods and culture, which increases their vulnerability to potential impacts.   “Threats to the deep sea are threats to human rights,” the experts said. “Indigenous Peoples, small-scale fishers and coastal communities all depend on a healthy ocean to survive. Their enjoyment of their human rights is at stake- including rights to food, to health, and to a healthy environment, including a safe climate and healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as cultural rights.”   They stressed that deep-seabed governance must be transparent, inclusive, participatory, science-based, and oriented toward protecting the human rights of both present and future generations.   “Marine activities that pose significant risks for humanity must not be authorised,” the experts said. “The deep seabed is the common heritage of humankind, thus governance must consistently protect it,” they said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/ocean-governance-must-be-grounded-international-law-un-experts http://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/58/59   Jan. 2026   Priority actions towards breathing clean air, protecting public health and ensuring a healthy environment - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riano.   Breathing clean air is vital for all. Science has unequivocally proven that air pollution poses significant risks to public health and to a healthy environment. The public health crisis linked to a fossil-fuel-dependent economy and unsustainable activities can be addressed through improved monitoring and governance. Stronger measures to improve air quality, prioritizing health to protect people, must be urgently implemented by States, aligned with their international and human rights obligations. The duty of private actors to support these efforts, and their urgent responsibility to prevent, reduce and remediate pollution, must also be underscored: http://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/61/47
	The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record by WMO, Copernicus Climate Change Service   Jan. 2026   The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record, continuing the streak of extraordinary global temperatures.   The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, and ocean heating continues unabated.   The global average surface temperature was 1.44 °C above the 1850-1900 average, according to WMO’s consolidated analysis of eight datasets.   Two of these datasets ranked 2025 as the second warmest year in the 176-year record, and the other six ranked it as the third warmest year.   The past three years, 2023-2025, are the three warmest years in all eight datasets. The consolidated three-year average 2023-2025 temperature is 1.48 °C (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.13 °C) above the pre-industrial era. The past eleven years, 2015-2025, are the eleven warmest years in all eight datasets.   “The year 2025 started and ended with a cooling La Nina and yet it was still one of the warmest years on record globally because of the accumulation of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. High land and ocean temperatures helped fuel extreme weather – heatwaves, heavy rainfall and intense tropical cyclones, underlining the vital need for early warning systems,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.   The World Meteorological Organization added that the high temperatures on land and sea last year helped to fuel extreme weather, including heatwaves, heavy rainfall and deadly tropical cyclones.   A separate study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences said that ocean temperatures were also among the highest on record in 2025, reflecting the long-term accumulation of heat within the climate system. About 90% of excess heat from global warming is stored in the ocean, making ocean heat a critical indicator of climate change.   The European Union’s Copernicus climate agency published a report based on data from climate-monitoring organizations, including NASA and the World Meteorological Organization. Based on weather readings from global satellites and weather stations, the report found that, for the first time in recorded history, global temperatures over a three-year period have exceeded the critical threshold of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.   At current rates of heating, the report found, the Earth could surpass the Paris Climate Accord’s target of 1.5°C on a long-term basis by 2030, more than a decade sooner than scientists’ projection when nations negotiated the pledge to reduce emissions back in 2015.   “Atmospheric data from 2025 paints a clear picture: Human activity remains the dominant driver of the exceptional temperatures we are observing,” said Laurence Rouil, the director of Copernicus’ Atmosphere Monitoring Service. “Atmospheric greenhouse gases have steadily increased over the last 10 years.”   Scientists have urged nations to take swift action in the hope of avoiding the 1.5°C tipping point. Carlo Buontempo, the director of Copernicus, said following Wednesday’s report that “we are bound to pass it. The choice we now have is how to best manage the inevitable overshoot and its consequences on societies and natural systems.”   “Extreme weather isn’t rare anymore—it’s driving up food prices, water shortages, and upending daily life across the globe,” said Savio Carvalho, the director for campaigns and networks for the climate activist group 350. “Governments know fossil fuels are the cause of climate breakdown, yet they keep stalling on the transition to renewable energy systems. We don’t have the luxury of wasting time or taking side paths, we are running out of time.”   http://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2025-was-one-of-warmest-years-record http://climate.copernicus.eu/global-climate-highlights-2025 http://climate.copernicus.eu/rapid-approach-15degc-global-warming-threshold-paris-agreement http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166758 http://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(25)00391-4 http://350.org/press-release/fossil-fuel-phaseout-urgent-as-1-5c-target-likely-to-be-passed-by-2030/ http://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ Visit the related web page
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