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Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Spain occupied an active position in international environmental law-making this year.Domestically, the year was marked by continued implementation of the Ley 7/2021, de 20 de mayo, de Cambio Clim� atico y Transici� on Energ� etica (LCCTE) and by the legal and political consequences of the Depresi� on Aislada en Niveles Altos event of October 2024, which caused catastrophic flooding in Valencia with over 200 fatalities.Prime Minister Pedro S� anchez cited that disaster at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP-30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), noting that climaterelated events have claimed 20,000 lives in Spain during the current decade-a figure that gave particular urgency to Spain's international climate positions throughout the year.Spain's most consequential treaty action of this year was the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) on 4 February, with Spain becoming the first EU member state to do so.The deposit of the instrument at the UN Headquarters followed parliamentary authorization in 2024.Spain thus contributed to the trajectory towards the ratification threshold of 60, which was reached on 19 September and which enabled the BBNJ Agreement to enter into force on 17 January 2026 as the third implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.Spain's early ratification reflects both its Atlantic and Mediterranean maritime interests and its constitutional obligation under Article 45 of the Spanish Constitution to protect the environment for present and future generations.At the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), which was held in Nice, France, on 9-13 June, Spain announced its intention to create five new marine protected areas, expanding conservation coverage to 25 per cent of its marine territory.This commitment is aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) 30 × 30 target.Spain also co-organized, together with France, Monaco, and Tunisia, a high-level Mediterranean marine protected area event through the MedFund.The Mar Menor lagoon, which is the first European ecosystem to hold legal personhood under Spanish law (Ley 3/2022), was recognized as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) flagship restoration initiative at the conference, illustrating the intersection of domestic legal innovation and
DOI: 10.1093/yiel/yvag038
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,246
OpenAlex ID: W7204165484
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