In Their Words: From Across the World, Leaders Call for Action on Climate Change at the UN
The resolution says countries can keep statehood and maritime zones even if rising seas make their land uninhabitable, and urges expanded adaptation funding.
- On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved a landmark declaration ensuring that countries facing total inundation from rising sea levels retain their statehood and place in the international system.
- The document establishes a 'presumption in favor of continued statehood,' allowing nations to maintain maritime zones despite physical changes from sea level rise, clarifying that changing coastlines should not automatically mean a country's disappearance.
- Bryce Rudyk, law professor at New York University and legal advisor to the Alliance of Small Island States, noted that protecting maritime borders serves all nations' interests, including the United States, which did not block the resolution.
- Recognizing an 'urgent' obligation, the accord calls for providing 'expanded access' to adaptation funds for Small Island States to build protective infrastructure like sea walls and restore coastal mangrove forests.
- Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the world cannot 'allow countries and cultures to vanish beneath the waves,' while Prime Minister Philip Davis emphasized that immediate action is essential to protect island nations from total inundation.
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26 Articles
UN approves resolution on dealing with rising sea levels
In 2024, global sea levels rose by almost six millimeters, the largest annual increase ever recorded, and they are set to rise by a meter or more by the end of the century without drastic action. "Sea-level rise is measured in millimetres, but its toll is measured in millions of shattered lives, uprooted communities, and stolen futures," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "We cannot allow countries and cultures to vanish beneath the waves …
In their words: From across the world, leaders call for action on clim
NEW YORK (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world cannot “allow countries and cultures to vanish beneath the waves” on Thursday as the General Assembly approved its first declaration on sea-level rise. This statement is
The Toronto Star
In their words: From across the world, leaders call for action on climate change at the UN
NEW YORK (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world cannot “allow countries and cultures to vanish beneath the waves” on Thursday as the General Assembly approved its first declaration on sea-level rise.
Video. UN to protect statehood of disappearing island nations
Video. The United Nations General Assembly will endorse, by consensus, a landmark declaration aimed at ensuring that countries whose territory may become partly or entirely uninhabitable because of rising sea levels do not lose their statehood or their place in the international system.
In 2024, global sea levels rose by nearly 6mm, the largest annual increase ever recorded, and are expected to rise by 1m or more by the end of this century if no drastic action is taken. The world could exceed a 1.5°C temperature increase by 2030. Global glaciers are expected to continue their sharp decline in 2025. China operates the world's largest offshore wind turbine.
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