UN Declaration on Sea-Level Rise

UN Declaration on Sea-Level Rise Latest News

The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted its first declaration on sea level rise, with member states, including the US, agreeing on a common text.

About UN Declaration on Sea-Level Rise

• It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during a high-level plenary meeting on September 24, 2026. 
• It is the UN’s first declaration on sea level rise.
• The declaration establishes a common international position on the legal and practical challenges posed by rising seas. 
• Global mean sea level reached a record high in 2024, and its rate of rise has doubled, from 2.1 millimeters per year in 1993-2002 to 4.7 millimeters per year in 2015-2024. 
• Major Highlights of the Declaration:
  • It affirms that countries threatened by rising oceans do not automatically lose their statehood if their territory becomes submerged.  
    • This means that the continued existence of a country under international law would not necessarily depend on its territory remaining above water. 
    • It supported the continued existence of such states’s sovereignty, rights, responsibilities, and UN membership. 
    • The issue is particularly relevant to small island developing States (SIDS), where rising seas can reduce habitable land and, in extreme cases, lead to the submergence of territory. 
  • It calls for stability in maritime zones despite physical changes to coastlines.
    • It states that countries can maintain maritime zones established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as sea levels rise, while retaining the right to update them.
    • The issue arises because maritime zones are generally measured from coastal baselines. 
    • This is particularly important for island nations because maritime zones determine rights over ocean resources and activities.
  • The declaration also addresses the wider threat that rising seas pose to coastal populations, infrastructure, and livelihoods. 
  • Around 770 million people worldwide live less than five metres above the high-tide line, according to a UN report on sea level rise and human rights. 
  • Without significant efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to rising seas, the risks facing coastal cities and communities could increase tenfold by 2100.
  • The declaration calls for stronger anticipatory action, including multi-hazard early warning systems, and for climate-related risk assessments to be incorporated into planning and decision-making. 
  • It also urges greater international cooperation to provide financial, technical and policy support to developing countries, particularly SIDS and least developed countries. 
  • The declaration calls for increased funding to support local responses to sea level rise. 
  • It identifies nature-based measures, including the protection and restoration of mangroves, kelp forests, and seagrass meadows, as ways to help coastal communities adapt. 
  • The declaration also calls for sea level rise projections to be taken into account when planning, constructing, and maintaining critical coastal infrastructure.

News: DTE

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