whether this involves climate change and ghg emission levels or the governance of the high seas and area beyond national jurisdiction abnj the protection of marine biodiversity or international conventions on maritime safety the path to international agreement appears increasingly complex and painstaking this appears to be all the more so since as the global ocean commission goc recently concluded ocean governance is plagued by a patchwork of sectorally focused agencies and institutions hampered by weak compliance and lack of enforcement moreover as chapter highlights the situation is exacerbated by a lack of legal clarity about economic activities in the oceans beyond national jurisdiction as well as the potential of increased competition between states for access to resources in the seas these include for example mention of the ocean in the paris cop agreement the establishment of oceanrelated sustainable development goals in particular sdg and agreement of member states at the united nations to develop a legallybinding instrument to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity of areas beyond their national borders