Sea level rise from melting ice sheets is accelerating around the world and the annual rate of the rise could more than triple every year by 2100, according to data published recently in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A team of researchers led by University of Colorado-Boulder professor of aerospace engineering sciences, Steve Nerem, relied on information collected by satellites over 25 years.

The research of the team shows that sea level rise from melting ice sheets is already responsible for half of the 7 centimeters of increase observed since 1993. At the current rate, the rise of the level of the oceans of about 3 millimeters per year right now could more than triple to reach 10 an extra millimeters per year by 2100.

This would mean that the sea level could rise by 65 centimeters by the end of the century, a figure in line with estimations by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with serious implications for coastal cities and small island states such as Fiji.

Climate change is driving ocean rise through two phenomena: the rapid melting of ice at the poles and the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This latter phenomenon warms the temperature of the water. Hot water – less dense than cold water – takes up more space, causing the ocean to expand.

“This acceleration, driven mainly by accelerated melting in Greenland and Antarctica, has the potential to double the total sea level rise by 2100 compared to projections that assume a constant rate,” says Nerem. With the increase accelerating each year, the level of the oceans would rise by more than 60 centimeters by the end of the century.  “And that’s naturally a conservative estimate”, he warns.

The results of this work are broadly in line with the projections of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 report, submitted in 2014.

The rapid implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is crucial to avoid  temperatures and sea levels from rising even faster. The main goal of the agreement is to maintain the rise in global average temperature well below 2°C, and as close as possible to 1.5°C.

Global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly caused by fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, need to peak soon and then decline rapidly to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, which include rising sea levels, more droughts, floods and forest fires.

In order to help achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement agreement, a unique process dubbed the Talanoa Dialogue was set up by Fiji, which has the chair of the UN Climate Change Conference COP23. The Talanoa Dialogue is an international discussion in which countries and other key actors monitor progress under the Paris Agreement while seeking to increase global ambition.

The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 that two Nigerian communities cannot pursue Royal Dutch Shell in English courts over oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta region.

The split decision upheld a High Court ruling in 2017 that was a setback to attempts to hold British multinationals liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad.

The court rejected the appeal from law firm Leigh Day on behalf of Nigeria’s Bille and Ogale communities, and upheld a ruling that English courts do not have jurisdiction over claims against Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

SPDC is jointly operated with the Nigerian government.

Shell said the court “rightly upheld” the earlier ruling, and said Nigeria’s “well-developed justice system” was the correct place for the claims.

Leigh Day said the two Nigerian communities intended to bring the case to Britain’s Supreme Court.

“We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant permission to appeal and will come to a different view,” Leigh Day partner Daniel Leader said.

NAN reports that n 2012 the European Court of Justice ruled that Shell parent companies “…in fact exercised decisive influence over their joint subsidiary’s conduct”; Shell Petroleum NV v. European Commission (2012) at para 51.

Further, in 2015 the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled that “Considering the foreseeable serious consequences of oil spills to the local environment from a potential spill source, it cannot be ruled out from the outset that the parent company may be expected in such a case to take an interest in preventing spills…”

The communities appealed against the ruling.

Day is representing over 40,000 Nigerian from two communities (the Ogale Community and the Bille Community) in claims against Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS) and its Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

Both communities allege that they have suffered systematic and ongoing oil pollution for years because of Shell’s operations.

Shell does not dispute that both communities have been severely polluted by its oil, or that it has yet to clean up the oil.

However, in November 2016, Shell sought to block the claims in London on the grounds the London-based parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, was not legally responsible for the pollution caused by its Nigerian subsidiary and that it was open to the communities to seek redress through the Nigerian courts.

By contrast, the claimants argued that Royal Dutch Shell exercised significant direction and control over it’s Nigerian subsidiary and was, therefore, liable for its systematic pollution of Ogale and Bille.