The gestation of this paper and two others has been rather controversial – no doubt the full story will emerge in time – but it is, never the less, being seen both in the UK and in Brussels as a significant contribution to our understanding of the effects of climate change on good environmental status under the MSFD implementation. It particularly raises the important but mostly ignored point regarding factors outside a Member State control when fulfilling an environmental legislation.

To read the paper click here (or contact Mike.Elliott@hull.ac.uk for a reprint).

Elliott, M., Borja, Á., McQuatters-Gollop, A., Mazik, K., Birchenough, S., Andersen, J.H., Painting, S., Peck, M., (2015). Force majeure: will climate change affect our ability to attain Good Environmental Status for marine biodiversity? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 95: 7-27; doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.03.015