Legal Analysis Regarding The Ocean Acidification Governance Issues

Ocean acidification is getting worse and poses a serious global environmental challenge. But, no multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) has so far been concluded with a view to addressing the problem of ocean acidification on a global scale. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is considered by many as being capable of addressing ocean acidification as it regulates carbon dioxide emissions in which is the root cause of the problem, but there exist many obstacles in practice. This article provides a critical examination as to whether ocean acidification is likely to be addressed through the provisions of relevant MEAs and how their decision-making bodies have responded to the problem, mainly from The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in climate system and The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in ocean system. Then, in this article it is argued that, on the contrary, ocean acidification is a side effect of climate change, ocean acidification cannot be solved through The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chang.Secondly, multilateral environmental agreements are not consistent in the process of governance of ocean acidification, it is difficult to form a unified management solution. Eventually, this article concludes:in the emerging polycentric order, a new MEA on ocean acidification is necessary to fill the regulatory gap.