World leaders approve UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise in New York

World leaders approved the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise by consensus at a high-level meeting in New York on Thursday. The declaration was adopted as UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that encroaching waters are already threatening coastal communities worldwide, with small island developing States described as facing an existential threat.

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At the opening of the meeting, Guterres said global sea levels rose by almost six millimetres in 2024, which he described as the largest annual increase ever recorded. He said the impact is already being felt in millions of shattered lives, uprooted communities and stolen futures, and warned that without drastic emissions cuts sea levels could rise by a metre by the end of the century.

Guterres said around 770 million people live less than five metres above the high-tide line. He said rising waters threaten homes, food systems, infrastructure and the territorial integrity of some nations.

He urged action on three fronts: cutting emissions, protecting communities and closing legal gaps, and said global emissions must peak immediately, fall 60 per cent by 2035, and adaptation finance must triple. The declaration calls for better observation, shared data and stronger early warning systems, more predictable and accessible funding for small island and least developed countries, protection of livelihoods and cultural heritage, and a presumption in favour of continued statehood and the ability to maintain maritime zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea despite rising seas.

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