Offshore renewable energy vs. high seas freedoms: the need for Marine Spatial Planning in areas beyond national jurisdiction

Suarez, S.V. and Elsner, Paul (2019) Offshore renewable energy vs. high seas freedoms: the need for Marine Spatial Planning in areas beyond national jurisdiction. In: 10th ABLOS Conference: Opportunities and Challenges in the Governance of the Planet Ocean, 8-9 Oct 2019, Monaco.

Abstract

New sea uses such as large-scale offshore wind parks in areas beyond national jurisdictions are rapidly becoming a realistic prospect. Their semi-permanent structures will de-facto appropriate large marine areas and potentially impinge upon the high seas freedoms of other States and sea uses. They also can have negative impacts on the marine environment and ecosystems. Flag states will play a central regulatory role for high seas ocean energy projects. This carries the danger that flags of convenience might evolve and unduly undercut environmental and safety standards that are in place for wind energy projects on the EEZ. Such abuse of high seas freedom could compromise the UNCLOS principle of ‘due regard’ for the rights of other states and actors on the high seas. It is therefore high time to create a framework for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) on the high seas that can serve as platform to avoid conflicts between users and also to safeguard the marine environment. Such MSP approaches have recently successfully been implemented for clean energy projects in EEZs. The IMO should play a leading role in developing and leading high seas MSP, as it already safeguards inherent issues such as safety of navigation and decommissioning structures on the EEZ.

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