Addressing the Existential Threats Posed by Sea-Level Rise | Plenary

Mr President,

I am pleased to participate in this timely and critically important discussion on behalf of the International Development Law Organization.

The climate crisis is one of the foremost justice challenges of our times, and sea-level rise is among its most widespread consequences, especially affecting communities in low-lying coastal regions and Small Island Developing States.

Yet, these communities and their governments are courageously taking the fight for climate justice to new frontiers, using the rule of law as a vital tool to respond to the existential threats posed by rising sea levels, including in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice.

Drawing on IDLO’s four decades of experience in supporting partners to ensure that the rule of law makes a difference in people’s lives, let me share three thoughts on the way forward:

First, adopting laws and regulatory frameworks can translate international commitments on environmental protection and climate change into concrete action at the domestic level, enhancing mitigation and adaptation. Legal frameworks must be developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders if they are to be truly people-centred. Whole of society and whole of government responses are required.

Second, enacting these laws creates rights and obligations. To ensure accountability, we must empower people on the frontline of the climate crisis. This includes the provision of legal aid and education, and the protection of civic space, enabling those most affected by sea-level rise to defend their rights and interests.

We must also strengthen the capacity of justice systems, both formal and informal, to ensure access to fair dispute resolution mechanisms that can effectively adjudicate climate-related cases, in accordance with environmental law principles and international human rights standards.

And third, we must champion an explicitly feminist approach to climate change, based on the rule of law. Climate change is not gender neutral. Women and girls are disproportionally affected, and despite being at the forefront of climate action, women continue to be excluded from climate-related decision-making.

A rule of law approach can support the development of gender-transformative legal and policy frameworks, and empower the most climate-vulnerable communities. We also need to ensure the participation and leadership of women in climate negotiations. The appointment of an all-male 28-member organising committee for COP29, until the intervention of women advocates, underscores that there is much left to do.

In conclusion, applying a justice lens to environmental governance can contribute to more effective and equitable adaptation and mitigation, and climate resilient development.

IDLO remains committed to working with all partners to identify rule of law solutions that will benefit current and future generations.