Sea-level rise in relation to International Law. Particular reference to the Law of the Sea and to migration

Abstract

Climate change is a ‘common concern of humanity’ and a governance challenge that has implications for the international legal system.1 Moreover, it is one of the main concerns of the international community. One of the most severe effects of climate change is the rise of the sea level as a consequence of the melting of polar glaciers. Indeed, this rise of the sea level may submerge a lot of coastal zones around the world. Some references might be brought in order to put into context the topic at hand. For instance, some States, most of them located in the South of the Pacific Ocean, such as Maldives (with an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level and a high point of 2.4 meters, being the lowest-lying country on the planet), Kiribati, the Marshall Islands or Tuvalu, are at serious risk of disappearing whether the sea level keeps rising at the current level.