In this lecture in the “Global Environmental Politics in the 21st Century” series, Dr Benjamin Habib explores whaling as a quintessential international environmental politics case study that is transnational in scope, governed through the International Whaling Commission and International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, involves activist groups and grassroots campaigns, illustrates questions around environmental justice, indigenous cultural practice, consumption, commodification of nature and the human relationship with the environment. The lecture begins by pondering ethical questions related to whaling and consumption of animals, then explores the international whaling protection regime, then concludes with an analysis of the Southern Ocean “whale wars” and the Australia vs. Japan case in the International Court of Justice.