The General Assembly’s high-level meeting approved the declaration without objection. It now goes to a formal plenary for adoption, and countries agreed to reconvene on the issue before the end of the Assembly’s 84th session. Championed by small island states, the text recognises a presumption in favour of continued statehood, including continued UN membership, and says maritime zones established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea should remain stable as coastlines retreat.
The stakes are unusually high for countries whose territory is mostly ocean. Kiribati’s maritime area spans 3.5 million square kilometres, while land accounts for just 0.02 per cent. For low-lying nations, losing inhabitable land can raise questions about political representation, nationality and the ocean zones that support government revenue. The declaration also calls for stronger early-warning systems, accessible adaptation finance and protection of the rights, livelihoods and cultural heritage of people who must move or adapt.
The decision came alongside a warning about the scale of possible displacement. A UN report cited at the meeting said up to 1.2 billion people could be affected by displacement by 2050 through rising seas, flooding, water stress and food insecurity. Global sea levels rose a record 5.9 millimetres in 2024, according to the report, and nearly 770 million people live less than five metres above the high-tide line.
Exposure varies by region but is not confined to island states. The report describes relocations already under way in Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. In Bangladesh, a 25-centimetre rise by 2050 could submerge about four per cent of the country’s land and affect around 10 million people, according to estimates cited by its prime minister. Coastal cities and ports also face risks that can travel through supply chains: ports handle more than 80 per cent of global merchandise trade.
The report links the danger to both emissions and a major funding shortfall. Current policies put the world on a path to about 2.6°C of warming; the cited projections associate that level with roughly 60 centimetres of sea-level rise by 2100. Developing countries are estimated to need $310 billion to $365 billion a year for adaptation, but received $26 billion in 2023. The Loss and Damage Fund had pledges of $768 million and receipts of $321 million as of March 2025, while its start-up envelope was $250 million.
Governments called for finance to match the pace of the threat, including grants rather than additional debt for irreversible losses. The declaration itself does not supply that funding, a limitation underscored by its non-binding status. Its significance is therefore chiefly political: governments have recorded a common position on continuity of statehood and maritime rights, while the practical measures needed to protect exposed communities remain dependent on future decisions and resources.