Climate law implications of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative

The MSR Initiative faces a number of challenges and presents several potential risks to be weighed against the advantages that it will bring about in terms of greater connectivity and increased trade flows. Among them, a special place is undoubtedly occupied by the adverse environmental impact of a rise in maritime traffic in the region. Against such a background, this chapter intends to address some of the implications of the Initiative from the perspective of its possible contribution to climate change patterns, given the fact that the bunker oil usually burnt by merchant ships produces a number of polluting substances, including, in particular, carbon dioxide. From a legal standpoint, the issue of vessel-generated greenhouse gas emissions sits at the crossroads of two different regimes, namely the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its subsequent developments, including the so-called Paris Agreement of 2015, on the one hand, and the body of rules adopted under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on the other. The interaction between two such normative systems and the approach adopted by the EU with regard to carbon dioxide emitted by ships is critically examined.