As Arctic sea ice recedes due to global warming, ship traffic is increasing, posing global climate risks, particularly from black carbon emissions. Emitted by ships burning heavy fuel oil, black carbon accelerates ice melt and contributes to climate change. Despite this urgency regulatory progress on the topic has been slow. The International Maritime Organization has debated Arctic black carbon emissions for over a decade with little advancement. Notably, regulatory efforts on the topic so far have been driven mainly by non-state actors rather than states. However, their regulatory influence is hindered by a critical barrier: a lack of transparency. This article analyses the crucial role of transparency in international law-making, specifically for non-state actors, using Arctic black carbon regulation as a case study. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, the article identifies transparency challenges and suggests recommendations to overcome them, thereby strengthening the role of non-state actors within the regulation.
Marine space is overall under increasing pressure from human activities and in the way harming the marine ecosystems. Maritime spatial planning is one of the governance elements in the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (2007) that aims to maximize the sustainable use of the seas and oceans. Maritime spatial planning aims to ensure that the increased use of the marine space takes place in a way that is consistent with the sustainable development in the seas and oceans. According to the MSP Directive it is required to follow an ecosystem-based and thus holistic approach. For this to happen, tools are needed, and some tools are available but with various advantages and disadvantages. The aim of the current research has been to develop a comprehensive package of tools to assess the environmental impacts of societal activities under different maritime spatial planning proposals.