Adrian-Nicușor POPESCU
Climate change and especially sea-level rise are threatening the livelihoods of the persons living on the low-lying coastlines and are engendering the undesirable conditions for a future exodus. As recent reports have shown, sea-level rise is a very actual and problematic topic and important decisions must be made in the next years. If the recognition of the refugee status is not guaranteed, the persons affected by sea-level rise must find appropriate judicial venues to file complaints against those States that fail to reduce their contributions to climate change and affect their human rights. How complicated would it be to choose contentious procedures that require the proof of a strong causal link between the unlawful act and the damage, crystallized as rising sea levels? Is the request of an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice a better option or filing complaints with the national judicial bodies? We considered that future climate change litigation and especially sea-level rise litigation should not be bypassed, as the international community made some strong commitments regarding the reduction of the anthropogenic influence on climate and, therefore, action must be taken to ensure that these commitments are respected and human rights are protected.
