Rebuilding Trust in Multilateral Governance: Lessons from the Seabed to COP 30

A deep-sea octopus on the seabead in Hudson Canyon, located off the Atlantic Coast of the United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean (NOAA) Exploration and Research
The remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer approaches the ghostlike octopus at 4,290 m during the first operational dive of the 2016 Okeanos Explorer season. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016.
The ROV Deep Discoverer is recovered after its successful first dive — part of NOAA’s efforts to explore and document the deep ocean. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016.

Whether on climate, biodiversity or the deep ocean, public confidence in how global institutions make decisions has become as important as the decisions themselves.

Who Is Protecting Antarctica’s Environment?

Neumayer Channel in the Antarctic Peninsula, January 2020. Antarctica's ice and its biological communities face grave, systemic threats from global climate change. Photo: Alessandro Antonello
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (third from right, seated) on his way to the Base General Bernardo O'Higgins in Antarctica, where he witnessed first-hand the deadly impacts of the climate crisis, 23 November 2023. UN Photo/Mark Garten
In 2023, Secretary-General António Guterres visited Antarctica to witness the impacts of the climate crisis, 22 November 2023. UN Photo/Mark Garten

The Antarctic Treaty System, in place since 1961, is principally dedicated to the environmental threats that arise locally, including those from fishing, tourism and scientific research.

Rising Hopes Amid Rising Seas: Developments in International Law Addressing the Threat of Sea-Level Rise

A small uninhabited Island in Baa Atoll, Maldives, 2018. Hoodh Ahmed/Unsplash
Aerial view of Malé, capital of Maldives, 2019. Photo: Asian Development Bank
A view from the Bransfield Strait during the visit to Antarctica of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who saw first-hand the sea ice melting into the ocean at record rates, 22 November 2023. UN Photo/Mark Garten

The impacts of sea-level rise linked to climate change raise important questions of international law.