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International Law:
The London Convention and related treaties
The London Convention is one of the oldest global conventions to protect the marine environment from human activities. The relevance of the London Convention - or more particularly its London Protocol - to CO2 storage is limited but important – it only applies to storage conducted from aircraft and vessels and platforms in the water column. In October 2006, the Parties amended the Protocol to allow CO2 to be stored if (1) the disposal is into a sub-seabed geological formation; (2) stored streams consist overwhelmingly of carbon dioxide; and (3) no waste is added for the purpose of disposal. This amendment provided a basis in international environmental law to regulate CO2 sequestration in sub-seabed geological formations. This amendment entered into force in February 2007. For more information about these amendments to the London Protocol and to a related treaty, the OSPAR Convention, see University College London’s Carbon Capture Legal Programme website.
The OSPAR Convention
The OSPAR Convention was established in 1992 by 15 Northern European States and the European Community as a successor to the complementary Oslo and Paris Conventions. The OSPAR Convention area is the Northeast Atlantic. It is considered one of the most comprehensive and strict legal frameworks governing the protection of the marine environment. Like the London Protocol, the OSPAR Convention applies to waste disposal and related activities (such as CO2 storage) in the water column and on and beneath the seabed. In June 2007, the OSPAR Commission issued a press statement entitled “OSPAR takes action on climate change” publicising the new OSPAR initiatives that legitimise CCS in sub-seabed geological structures while, at the same time, safeguarding the marine environment. The statement was issued in conjunction with an OSPAR decision to amend the Convention to allow for environmentally safe storage of CO2 in geological formations while banning the injection of CO2 into the water column or its deposition on the seabed. This decision follows the concerns reflected by the Commission at its previous June 2006 meeting regarding the consequences of CO2 emissions on ocean acidification and the marine environment.